Many people who get these posts regularly are well-read and good readers. Still, I have been wanting to review the subject of getting books for a while. Ever since I got a Kindle in April of 2008, with its ability to download a book as though it were getting a cellphone call, I have been aware of books flying through the air. It is hard to believe but it is true. Right now, about 310,000 books are available in Kindle format. If a new book is published in the United States, it is quite likely to be available for the Kindle. It is easy to check by looking at the Amazon site.
The standard Kindle book price is $9.99 but many books cost more and many cost less, including quite a selection that are free. (Current price of a Kindle is $299, down from the initial price of $359.)
So, if you have a Kindle and what you want is available in that format, either with the device itself or a computer hooked to the internet, you tell Amazon you want the book and bingo! You have it.
Many paper books are available from Amazon or Barnes and Noble or Powell’s books in Portland, OR but are not available for the Kindle. Still, a book can be purchased online and mailed to you within a couple of days, often even faster if you want to pay extra. The list price might be more than you have to actually pay for a new copy if you buy from one of the large online sellers.
Amazon, as well as Barnes and Noble increasingly, runs a very large used book operation integrated with its own sales. If you just want a copy for reference, it may pay to look it up on the Amazon site and look carefully at all the used options for that book. Many books that used to be popular are available for 1 cent, plus $4 shipping.
The author Steven Johnson reviewed the Kindle for the Wall Street Journal and in it, he mentioned the ‘dark matter’ of the knowledge-sphere, the enormous amount of printed matter in libraries where it can only be read right on site. But the controversial Google deal where it is digitizing books that exist but may no be in print any longer may come to your rescue. Even books that are currently for sale are often partially available and the part you can see might answer your need.
Kindle books are often less expensive but their cost can still add up. Buying paper books costs money but also costs trees, shipping fuel and space. A couple of years ago, Lynn and I got rid of 700 books and we don’t want to rush back to having overflowing shelves. So: libraries!
The ones near enough to get to regularly are probably searchable online. If you find what you want and it’s in, you can put a hold on it to avoid a fruitless trip for a book that was checked out before you got there. Local universities and colleges will often allow a non-student to borrow their books and their catalogs are online, too. If the book is not in, you can put a hold on it so it will be kept for you when it is returned.
There may be a site that will search all the libraries in your area or your whole state and tell you what libraries could lend you what you want.
Finally, just ask a librarian. Trained professional librarians are amazing to us ordinarys and they can often find a book faster that we can. They have tools and thought patterns we don’t know about. They love a juicy search challenge.
