The Anonymous Bookaholics Tag

Thanks to Introverted Thoughts for tagging me, make sure to check out their bookish posts. I am new to all this tagging, so whoever also wants to answer these questions – please feel yourself tagged!

1) What do you like about buying new books?
Everything. From the planning (I usually have a couple of books on my buy-on-sight list), to the browsing and holding the books in my hands to see if they feel good. Afterwards, coming home and taking the book out, seeing how it fits with the others.

2) How often do you buy new books?
I try not to do it too often. Usually when I go someplace I try and visit the bookstore. At least once a year I visit London and then I buy in bulk, since it is the one time I get to stroll full English-language bookstores instead of a small English department.

3) Bookstore or online book shopping: which do you prefer?
Certainly bookstore. I try to buy all my books there, but living in Belgium, the English books that are readily available in bookstores are usually just the bestsellers, so I sometimes have to go online. I try to order them at the bookstore, but even the bookseller told me to try and get some via Amazon since they couldn’t order them unfortunately.

Recently I have also been buying some eBooks for the Kindle, mainly to save space on my physical shelves.

4) Do you have a favorite bookshop?
Many. Back home I love to visit the Bookchurch, which was announced one of the most beautiful bookstores by The Guardian. Normally, I visit two local stores in my city, along with two chains that sometimes have more choice. When in Germany, I try to squeeze in a visit to the Mayersche or Hugendubel. And of course in London we do all the bookstores, but definitely Daunts Books, Foyles, Hatchards (it is at St Pancras, how could I not?) and for Sci-Fi and Fantasy Forbidden Planet.

5) Do you pre-order books?
Not often, but I do keep a list with books I want to buy but haven’t been released yet. Strangely, The Winds of Winter has been on there for seven years straight…

6) Do you have a monthly buying limit?
I have tried in the past and always failed miserably, so at the moment I don’t have one. I just try to keep it to a minimum – but that is still quite some books.

7) How big is your wishlist?
I’m glad this is not about the TBR, but my wishlist as in what I really plan to buy soon is usually not that big – luckily. But new books find their way up there quite often.

8) Which three books from your wishlist do you wish to own right now?

• Piranesi by Susanna Clarke – I have been looking forward to this one a lot. I loved reading Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and this is her first novel in years.
• False Value by Ben Aaronovitch – I am still waiting for the right edition to be published, otherwise it wouldn’t fit nicely with the rest of the series. However, I am really looking forward to it.
• Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir – I only finished the first book Gideon the Ninth last weekend, so I am still pumped and very much thrilled for the sequel. I still need to order it though.

So, I guess I am more of a not-so-anonymous bookaholic. 😉