I just realized, boy is it refreshing to actually talk about sites like z-lib without being censored. Library Genesis and Anna's Archive are also nifty.
yeah if i'm even remotely ambiguous on whether i'd want a book, piracy. i can't buy everything and i can't go to a library every day. but i definitely try to buy books from the authors i know i like—i heard great things about NK Jemisin and Kim Stanley Robinson for example, read one of their books, and then that made me go out and buy large parts of both's output. i think i have physical copies of like a third of KSR's major novels, lol.
Exactly. I always read a pirated epub first, then, I always go out and buy that book in hardcover. But many of the authors I enjoy are long dead, and many of their prints are in public domain. So piracy doesn't matter there. That's where Project Gutenberg and Standard Ebooks are incredible!
Book Depository closed the other month, I don't know if Amazon understood how important it is for people outside US and EU, but the closure really pushed everyone I know to casually switch back to piracy.
I usually check them out from my library through Libby or on my Kobo reader. I just read e-books these days because my library is a bit far away and not open very often. When I lived in a bigger city, I liked to wander around the library and pick out things that caught my eye on the shelves.
My library is huge, I don't have enough shelf space for all of my physical books, and on my ebook reader, I have a big kindle, humble bundle and bookfunnel library. I also have an offline ebook library.
I probably don't have enough time in my life to read all the books I want to read.
So I'm now pretty picky on what books I'm going to buy, rent, 'steal' or borrow.
I love physical books and rely mostly on my local library, on donation boxes, and sometimes on my local bookshop.
I also love ebooks, so if I'm not 100% sure I'll enjoy a book I usually get it on libgen, and then if I've liked it enough that I want to (literally) showcase it and pass it around to my friends, I go to my local bookshop and get the paper version.
Mostly borrow ebooks from the public library. There is a small new-and-used bookstore near me, one of those classic “open 3 hours a day, more if we feel like it” ones. Very fun to go wander the shelves when I want a physical book.
I'm pretty much 100% Kobo for my reading these days, and am not averse to buying things when they're on offer on Amazon then stripping off the DRM. I've had my library account attached to it in the past, but moved recently, so need to re-register with my local library.
I make poor financial decisions haha. I used to live not far from a library though and that was handy for finding books I wouldn't have read otherwise.
i rarely buy physical books as i like reading during breaks or when im waiting on something and its not always feasible to have a book with me i buy books when they are available for a price that will not bankrupt me as a book thats 10 dollars is around 50 ron wich in my opinion is far too much especially as i need money for other things otherwise i simply pirate them
I buy books as epubs and read them on my Tolino Epos. Buying is a no-brainer for me because if you think about it, the hours of entertainment / price ratio is insanely good with books. Paying between 5-15€ for a book here in Germany is less than I pay for a good meal.
I read everything via the library first, unless it’s an author that I am absolutely positive that I will enjoy everything they write. I’ll borrow ebooks or physical books, depending on which will be available faster. Then, if I absolutely love the book and I’m sure I will read it again, I’ll buy a physical copy for my shelf.
I have two apps for borrowing books, one for Finnish and one for English books (Ellibs and Libby). Weirdly the Finnish one sucks balls and literally has like 100 fantasy books in total. I don't read a ton but I do take a gander at stuff to borrow on occasion. I can sync the borrowed books with my Kobo e-reader which is nice. Then I also use the Kobo store to buy books, but my god their app is terrible. Bad enough that I groan when I need to browse books in there. I don't really read physical books but it has been tempting to start browsing libraries as I have two within walking distance. Perhaps during summer.
Haven't really found a good place to find new books. It is mostly though reddit. I know people use Goodreads but eh, for some reason it does not appeal to me that much.
There's https://bookwyrm.social/ for fediverse goodreads alternative. For Finnish e-books, try https://ekirjasto.kirjastot.fi/ . It redirects to overdrive/ellibs in the end. In a year or two all of Finland should be served by one huge e-library instead of every library having their own e-library. Let's hope that improves the situation.
Combination of my local second-hand bookstore (which has a wildly good selection given that I live in a small country town), my two favourite "regular" bookstores, Libby, and the Kobo ebook store.
If I can't find something particularly niche or out of print, I'll use Abe Books but I try to avoid that since it's owned by Amazon.
Edit: I've started to favour print books most of the time, at least for poetry and non-fiction. I've started to write more again and I find physical books much easier to refer back to.
I use the Libby app and check out ebooks from my local library usually. I have a bunch of physical books as well, but I am out of room to put them now. I also find ebooks to be more convenient. I can read whenever I want because I have all the books I'm reading on my phone.
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