How do you thrift for books?

pekt
Thu, 15 May 2025 04:19:23 +0000

I've always been a big fan of going to a second hand book store/thrift store and searching around for some cheap books to add to my bookshelf. When I was younger, it helped me get more bang for my buck, and growing up in the greater Portland Oregon area, I had access to Powell's Books which was an amazing place to go and see how many books I could get for $10-20 when my parents would take me.

I don't get to shop for books often as I made a foolish (joking) agreement with my wife that I would read all of the books I own before buying new ones, but when I do, I love that sense of going into a used book store/thrift shop and seeing what I might find.

I tend to try and complete series that I'm missing books in or that I know are on my to read list and will often pull out my phone to check. But when I was last browsing through the used book stores near the market my family goes to, it got me wondering how other people search go thrifting for books and I thought up a few questions below

Do you:

judge books by their cover?

have a list of books you search for?

set a spending limit and see what you can get?

go with family or friends, or is it a solo venture?

frequent the same shops or try to cast a wide net?

use online sites to purchase your second hand books?

have any fun stories you'd want to share?

If you have other thoughts on buying books second hand, feel free to share them!

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