One of the interesting things I’ve found since online shopping became popular is that many people still want to browse in physical stores.  There’s a huge difference between seeing a few pictures and reading a product description and actually physically examining an object that’s in front of you.  This is particularly true when it comes to books, I’ve found.

Although I do order books online from time to time, they’re usually sequels or other books in a series by an author that I know.  If I’m looking for a good new read, I often want to go to a physical bookstore.  I love browsing up and down the aisles, pulling out books, talking to staff and fellow book lovers about books.  No matter how much companies like Amazon try to make online shopping like that, it will never be a substitute for me.  Actually being in a bookstore is definitely my preferred method of shopping.

Of course, I’m in a different situation from a lot of book bloggers because I don’t actually buy ebooks.  I get so many ebooks through NetGalley and directly from authors that I’ve never really felt the need to browse through the ebook sections of online retailers.  I know that that’s certainly not the case for many authors and bloggers out there.

So how do you prefer to shop for books?  (I know it’s not as simple as choosing online or in person but if you absolutely had to choose one method to shop for books, what would it be?)