I often use them as a proving ground for new writers: if I like the first thing I read by a given author from the library, I'll buy the next one in paperback. If I love the first thing I read, I'll go find all the author's works in whatever edition is currently available.
I do that too. I think that's actually pretty common for people who read a lot -- if we bought all the books we read new, we'd spend exorbitant amounts of money and also be stuck with new books we might not like. I do like Neil Gaiman's idea of used books floating around in bookstores and through bookcrossing as a kind of viral marketing -- and one that isn't necessarily limited by the publishers' willingness to spend whatever money they have. A book in a library, I think, is a kind of perpetual advertisement for an author -- or a way for a lot of good authors to remain sort-of in print til their books can be republished again. So libraries are sort of like preservation museums in a way, the memory of bookstores....
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Fri, Sep. 24th, 2004 01:00 am (UTC)I do that too. I think that's actually pretty common for people who read a lot -- if we bought all the books we read new, we'd spend exorbitant amounts of money and also be stuck with new books we might not like. I do like Neil Gaiman's idea of used books floating around in bookstores and through bookcrossing as a kind of viral marketing -- and one that isn't necessarily limited by the publishers' willingness to spend whatever money they have. A book in a library, I think, is a kind of perpetual advertisement for an author -- or a way for a lot of good authors to remain sort-of in print til their books can be republished again. So libraries are sort of like preservation museums in a way, the memory of bookstores....