(AI Tong Prelim 2026) Do you prefer borrowing books from a library or buying books from a bookstore? Why?
I am going to be vulnerable and reveal my idiosyncrasy. I actually don’t like these two options as much as I like getting books from book exchange corners.
Let me explain what I mean. Outside community and public libraries, you can sometimes see book exchange corners, in which people donate their preloved books. Anyone who passes by can bring home these books for free should they choose to. And this is my favourite way of getting books.
No doubt, I enjoy free things, but the reason why I have stopped buying books from bookstores is that space has become a prized commodity at my house. I may have the financial means to buy books, but I don’t have enough space to display them all, especially when my children’s toys multiply like rabbits.
I also borrow books from the library, but nothing beats the joy of coming across a trending book at a book exchange corner. The thrill I derive from finding popular books like “Surrounded by idiots” and “Talking to strangers” is enough to make my day. Nothing beats indulging in a cheap thrill.
I also relish passing on these books to interested friends once I am done reading them. You can’t do that with books borrowed from the library. And I am not so generous to give people books bought with my hard-earned money.
I used to only buy books. Then I realized that A) I was running out of room, and B) there were only a handful of books I wanted to re-read. I still hit bookstores (and little free libraries, etc), but most of my book reading is via my library.
For the smaller amount of digital books I read, it's basically the same thing, but I do snag free or super-cheap books to build up a personal library for when I'm travelling.
for your absolute favourites, do you take the time out to read them like once a year or something?
do you use Libby?
More like once every few years, or when the mood hits me.
I use Libby, but since I sometimes have a ton of books to read, I prefer getting them physically from my library if possible, since there's usually a longer checkout period (and the period starts when I pick it up, not when it arrives at the library; Libby starts immediately).
thanks. always interested to find out more about others’ reading habits!
Fun fact: USA public libraries often accept donations which are on the banned books list: https://www.ala.org/bbooks
There are also various political lobby groups that systematically file complaints or suggestions to get certain literature removed or inserted from individual library branches.
The public library has to offload this "banned media" somehow.
Life hack: Shop books from library sales! That's where you can find the information "they" don't want you to have.
thanks for sharing this fun fact! so interesting to know!
I borrow from the library 95% of the time. I even requested 'Bitcoin is for Everyone' from my library. It was so new that it wasn't in their system yet so my librarian bought a copy for the library instead – so now I'm on the road to orange-pilling my little town. Of course if I see a book in the little free exchange box I would be very happy, but it's a rare thing to see something I actually want or need in there. Buying books is very rare these days.
I’m quite inspired by how you opened your fellow residents’ minds about Bitcoin. fascinating!