Anonymous
Post 01/15/2026 10:11     Subject: Library vs Buying
Anonymous wrote:I have no interest in buying $$$ coffee, but I’ve always been a book buyer and don’t have any issue spending money on books. The library never seems to have the book I’m interested in or I can’t finish it in time because there’s a waitlist behind me so I buy most of my books, immediately donate the ones I don’t absolutely love and keep the ones I might read again or loan to a friend. I also feel like buying books helps support authors and publishers—and imo that’s worth it alone. If you are a library mostly person, do you just read whatever the library has available whenever it comes ready? I’m curious to know if people tend to buy books more than take out from the library.


Buying is waaaay better. It's very difficult letting those leave the home after they have been loved tho to make room for new buys.
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2026 16:42     Subject: Library vs Buying
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I read 113 books in 2025. I only bought two of them, and that was because I wanted paperbacks that I could take on a flight and then just leave at my destination (I put them in little free libraries not the trash). All the rest were library books.

I have a TBR list and use holds to have a pretty much constant stream of books.


Where are you getting the books from then if you only bought 2?


…the library
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2026 16:28     Subject: Library vs Buying
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:A secret if you like Libby and have an e reader. I've noticed that as long as I stay in the book, even after it's been returned, I can finish the book. If you go to the home screen it yanks it. This is true on both my Paperwhite and early model kindle.


Ma’am, just put your kindle in airplane mode like the rest of us.


I've found airplane mode doesn't always work. Sometimes if you go to the homescreen it will pull the book, even in airplane mode.

That doesn’t make a bit of sense. It would have to connect to WiFi to do that, and airplane mode is not connected.


i’m sure that Amazon will find a way for rented media to expire through some kind of software that works even if not connected to the Internet.


It's the library not Amazon.


A Kindle is Amazon


You can read the ebooks you borrow from the library through libby on a kindle.

I have a kindle and i have never bought a book from Amazon.
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2026 14:35     Subject: Library vs Buying
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:A secret if you like Libby and have an e reader. I've noticed that as long as I stay in the book, even after it's been returned, I can finish the book. If you go to the home screen it yanks it. This is true on both my Paperwhite and early model kindle.


Ma’am, just put your kindle in airplane mode like the rest of us.


I've found airplane mode doesn't always work. Sometimes if you go to the homescreen it will pull the book, even in airplane mode.

That doesn’t make a bit of sense. It would have to connect to WiFi to do that, and airplane mode is not connected.


i’m sure that Amazon will find a way for rented media to expire through some kind of software that works even if not connected to the Internet.


It's the library not Amazon.


A Kindle is Amazon
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2026 14:13     Subject: Library vs Buying
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I read 113 books in 2025. I only bought two of them, and that was because I wanted paperbacks that I could take on a flight and then just leave at my destination (I put them in little free libraries not the trash). All the rest were library books.

I have a TBR list and use holds to have a pretty much constant stream of books.


Where are you getting the books from then if you only bought 2?


All the rest were library books.
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2026 14:07     Subject: Library vs Buying
I read about 3-4 books a week and I get them all from various Little Free Libraries. There are more than 10 of those within a half mile of my home in all directions (NE DC) and while many of them are full of "what to expect when expecting" type and policy wonlk/government analysis books, there are also plenty of good books. I grab whatever appeals to me and put it back in another LFL when I'm done.

I have found bestsellers - a couple years later. That's fine with me. I'm not in a book group and have no deadlines for finishing a book.

So to answer your question - neither. I don;'t buy books and I don't check them out from libraries.
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2026 14:07     Subject: Library vs Buying
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Libraries pay more for their books than we do.

You're still supporting authors through your library!


Why would this be?


They also buy more durably printed books.
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2026 14:01     Subject: Library vs Buying
Anonymous wrote:I read 113 books in 2025. I only bought two of them, and that was because I wanted paperbacks that I could take on a flight and then just leave at my destination (I put them in little free libraries not the trash). All the rest were library books.

I have a TBR list and use holds to have a pretty much constant stream of books.


Where are you getting the books from then if you only bought 2?
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2026 13:33     Subject: Library vs Buying
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Libraries pay more for their books than we do.

You're still supporting authors through your library!


Why would this be?

Because publishers are greedy? There's a chart with some average costs here: https://janefriedman.com/what-do-authors-earn-from-digital-lending-at-libraries/

There's also a cost to process any book to be ready to go into circulation.

Anonymous
Post 01/14/2026 13:25     Subject: Library vs Buying
Anonymous wrote:Libraries pay more for their books than we do.

You're still supporting authors through your library!


Why would this be?
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2026 13:24     Subject: Library vs Buying
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:A secret if you like Libby and have an e reader. I've noticed that as long as I stay in the book, even after it's been returned, I can finish the book. If you go to the home screen it yanks it. This is true on both my Paperwhite and early model kindle.


Ma’am, just put your kindle in airplane mode like the rest of us.


I've found airplane mode doesn't always work. Sometimes if you go to the homescreen it will pull the book, even in airplane mode.

That doesn’t make a bit of sense. It would have to connect to WiFi to do that, and airplane mode is not connected.


i’m sure that Amazon will find a way for rented media to expire through some kind of software that works even if not connected to the Internet.


It's the library not Amazon.
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2026 10:57     Subject: Library vs Buying
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:A secret if you like Libby and have an e reader. I've noticed that as long as I stay in the book, even after it's been returned, I can finish the book. If you go to the home screen it yanks it. This is true on both my Paperwhite and early model kindle.


Ma’am, just put your kindle in airplane mode like the rest of us.


I've found airplane mode doesn't always work. Sometimes if you go to the homescreen it will pull the book, even in airplane mode.

That doesn’t make a bit of sense. It would have to connect to WiFi to do that, and airplane mode is not connected.


i’m sure that Amazon will find a way for rented media to expire through some kind of software that works even if not connected to the Internet.
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2026 10:26     Subject: Library vs Buying
I read 113 books in 2025. I only bought two of them, and that was because I wanted paperbacks that I could take on a flight and then just leave at my destination (I put them in little free libraries not the trash). All the rest were library books.

I have a TBR list and use holds to have a pretty much constant stream of books.
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2026 10:22     Subject: Library vs Buying
Libraries pay more for their books than we do.

You're still supporting authors through your library!
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2026 10:21     Subject: Library vs Buying
Anonymous wrote:Op here—I didn’t realize (or I guess I never thought about it) you could have multiple library cards to create more holds etc. Tgat may explain why my library hold/loan situation is not great! I am not a kindle/e-book person so the act of physically picking out a book that is of interest to me in that moment is part of what I enjoy about reading.

The hold estimate might not be accurate. I'll place 5 holds for a book and when one comes through, I'll cancel the others. It's extremely common (if you follow bookish social media, you'll see this). If it says 50 people are ahead of you, a bunch of them might drop off because they get the book through one of their other cards.