You need to consider the cost of printing an ebook, which can be 5 cents or more per page. It often is actually cheaper to buy the print book.

I am an Amazon Prime member, so I get most books shipped to me within two days.

I love e-books to the point that I refuse to buy a non-fiction book if it doesn’t come in pdf. Of course I still prefer reading paperback, but if I can’t find them in a bookstore, I don’t want to deal with shipping.

My problem is, I love printing out e-books because it is easier to study them that way, so they also create space problems. But I don’t keep the ones whose information I internalized or the ones that aren’t worth going back to.

With paperbacks, I also look at its referencing/studying/rereading potential. If they don’t offer any value anymore, I throw them out or give them away. Space problem bugs me the most…

Sarah, I also keep autographed copies too, though I only have a few.

I hope things go well with the book trader. In my experience they’ll take only some of them, leaving you to decide what to do with the rest.

I also add that I keep a book if it’s one I got autographed in person.

Great topic. One I’ve never seen discussed.

I also really appreciate the tactile sensation of holding a book.

Plus I just got a really cool “Buen Camino” bookmark from a friend who recently walked the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain.

Anne, for a while I had a rule of one book out for every book in, but then I went on the big run of donating and I’m way ahead.

I also downloaded software from Amazon that lets me read Kindle ebooks on my computer. I rarely use it, but I occasionally download free ebooks and it’s good to know I can read them.

Thanks for sharing BookMooch J’aime. I really like the concept.

I bought a rare book I needed through a similar site a few years ago. It would have been free if I’d had points.

Thanks for sharing your story Cheryl.

I’ve only donated books; it seems far too difficult to try to sell them. I have given a few that are very salable to a friend to sell on ebay, and let him keep the money.