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Published on April 27th, 2010 | by Ronan

6

Broken Spine #24: Book Shopping

Yesterday on twitter I asked my followers where they bought their books online in order to help you save some money on your purchases. So the following are the Best Places to Buy Books Online. (All deliver to Ireland, obviously)

Amazon Books  

AMAZON
Amazon started off as a US book retailer before branching out to supply nearly everything. It’s like the world’s biggest Argos, as you can see only the catalogue before making your purchase. Amazon has thousands of books, as well as out-of-print titles via its authorized resellers. Luke Teeling suggested checking between both amazon.com and amazon.co.uk for prices, as sometimes you can get a better deal from America.

BOOKDEPOSITORY
A few people suggested BookDepository.co.uk as the number one place to shop online for books. They do free delivery to Ireland, and prices on books that are at least six months old are very reasonable. It may take a few days for your delivery to come, but as there’s no delivery cost, you’ll hardly mind waiting a week, right? Thanks to Elmo and Anne-Marie for the recommendation.  

PLAY
Musician Colin J Morris pointed out to me that Play.com does not only DVDs and video games, but also sells cheap books too. They’re a very reputable retailer, and while don’t have as large a range as Amazon, do great discounts on a regular basis.

But the best place to buy books is… YOUR LOCAL BOOKSHOP
Can anything beat wandering around your local bookshop looking at all the titles on the shelf? Picking up a book you have never seen and reading the back, and then finding the literary love of your life? There’s no better feeling than that. Bernie Divilly knows the feeling: “Nothing like a wander around a bookstore of a Sunday…always find something you’d forgotten you wanted!” Fellow culchie Niall has suggested accessing your amazon wishlist from your phone and then using that to find books in your local store. And what about the delivery time? 0 minutes!

Where do you buy your books? Is there any site you’d recommend that I’ve overlooked?

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About the Author

Music blogger turned book/TV blogger. Avid follower of the Irish soccer team.



6 Responses to Broken Spine #24: Book Shopping

  1. Darren Byrne says:

    Nice post. I work just off Dawson Street and like nothing more than spending a lunch break wandering around both Waterstones and Hodges Figgis book stores.

  2. Ronan says:

    I could spend hours in Hodges. Chapters is wonderful though.

    Down here we’re really missing Hughes and Hughes. Hopefully they reopen soon.

  3. Niall says:

    I’m pretty sure I said the exact opposite bro. I frequently wander around bookstores only to pick up my phone and buy the book on Amazon for cheaper.

    That’s especially the case in Amsterdam where the EUR price is twice the GBP.

  4. Emlyn says:

    Great article. I’ve ordered from the bookdepository through Amazon before, but never copped they had their own site.

    I love wandering around H&F and Waterstones, though Chapters has lately become my town bookstore of choice. Could spent a week in there…and made a lot of time for the old Abbey St premises too. Loved (and still do) haunting the second-hand section. And yes, that’s a real shame about Hughes & Hughes ? I liked visiting the one in Swords whenever i was out there. Here’s hoping they make a comeback!

  5. Efa says:

    CD wow also sell book cheaply enough with free delivery! Amazon.co.uk has free delivery on irish orders over £25!

  6. elly parker says:

    It’s not quite ‘buying’ books, but you should check out http://www.bookmooch.com I get a lot of my books from there these days.

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