Benefits to Buying Books

Last week I wrote about supporting authors without buying their books, so this week I want to talk about a few benefits of buying books. To be honest, there's this little voice in my head going "People need reasons to buy books... They're books. That's reason enough." Of course that's the writer and reader in me. The minimalist and anti-consumerist in me totally gets why many people don't want to buy books. Buying books is a commitment. It's adding another "thing" to your shelves, your home, your life.

Let me be clear. I understand that people work hard for their money, and buying a book can feel like a luxury. I totally get it. I've been there. The rent, the mortgage, fuel, food should all be higher priorities than buying books. I remember days when I saved change for a month to buy a book. I'm not, in any way, proposing that people sacrifice necessities to buy books.

There are advantages to buying a book.

You own the book. When you own a book, it's yours. That particular copy belongs to you to do whatever you want with it.

You can write in the book. If you're the kind of person who likes to make notes in the margin or underline or highlight key points in the book, you have the freedom to do that in a book you own.

You can take your time reading the book. If you check a book out from the library, you usually need to read it in a set amount of time. If you borrow it, you might feel pressured to finish reading it to return it to its owner. But, if you own the book, you can read at a pace that allows you to enjoy the book. You can study the book. You can take time to think about what you've read before moving on. I've read a few books that took me months, and one that even took me over a year, to read. If I'd not owned those books, I would've felt stressed reading those books and perhaps not finished them.

You can read the book multiple times. Okay, so I'll be honest here. I rarely read a book more than once, but I do sometimes go back and read portions of books, particularly nonfiction books, from time to time. I know some people read books more than once, and I used to be one of those people, but I've come to realize there are so many books out there I want to read that I don't really want to read what I've already read when I could be reading something I haven't read. However, if you are someone who wants to read a book multiple times, owning a book means it's there for you to read any time you want.

You can use the book as a reference. Speaking of returning to books to read portions of them, I have a slew of books I keep on my shelves as reference books. I often return to these books to look up information relative to a project at hand or to remind myself of pertinent information regarding an issue. The information might be available online or it might not depending on the book, but I tend  to find having reference books on my shelves beneficial.

You enjoy seeing the book on your bookshelves. Okay, this won't appeal to everyone, but if you have books you love, having these books on a shelve can inspire you, encourage you, or just make you smile. I have several books like this. I tend to get rid of books that bring me pain, make me anxious, or otherwise have a negative impact on me. But, those books that inspire me, always have a home on my shelves. I'm currently reading Becoming by Michelle Obama, and I guarantee this book will have a home on my shelves. It already inspires me, encourages me, and makes me smile. For me, the joy books bring me is an important reason to buy books.

You can share the book with someone else. If you like a book, you can give it as a gift, loan it to friend, donate it to a library, sell it as a used book, or otherwise share it with someone else. This might even create an opportunity to discuss the book with others.

You show support for an author whose work you like. When you buy a book, you show support for the author and the author's work. Without book sales, authors don't earn money, and run the risk of not being able to continue writing, particularly if they are published with traditional publisher, or don't have another source of income. When authors sell books, they can write more books. Then you can read more of their work. It's a cycle that benefits everyone. 


I understand these benefits might not appeal to everyone, but as a book lover, these are just a few reasons I buy books and can see for other people to buy books. I'm sure many other book lovers and writers could share other great reasons to buy books!

I love books! I write books! I sell books! I buy books! I read books! I love reading! Oh, and did I mention, I LOVE books!

Reading is an important part of learning and growing throughout life. Books are instrumental to reading. So please whether or not you buy books, please read.