Why Buy?

I’ve asked, in the past, about whether you more often buy your books, or get them from libraries. What I want to know today, is, WHY BUY?

Even if you are a die-hard fan of the public library system, I’m betting you have at least ONE permanent resident of your bookshelves in your house. I’m betting that no real book-lover can go through life without owning at least one book. So … why that one? What made you buy the books that you actually own, even though your usual preference is to borrow and return them?

If you usually buy your books, tell me why. Why buy instead of borrow? Why shell out your hard-earned dollars for something you could get for free?

When I was a child, most of the books I read were either borrowed from the libraries or loaned from friends. Although I love the idea of owning the books to myself, I did not ask my parents for extra money to buy the books because I understand they had worked hard and that money does not come easily; and moreover what is the point of libraries if you do not make full use of them?

It was only during my teenaged years that I began to buy books with my own pocket money. Although these books can be easily get from libraries, it is simply the feeling and the fact of owning them that makes everything so different. I do not have to worry about returning them at a specific time, but most of all, I love the feeling of holding a new book in my hand and inhaling the crisp paper smell. Besides this, I can always re-read them as and when I like and also, share them with families and friends.