Buying Books: Online Versus In-Store

So this week, two books that I’ve been anticipating came out, and because I bought one of them online and the other in-store, it got me thinking about which one of these two options I prefer. In this post, I’m going to be weighing up the pros and cons of buying books online versus buying them at a physical bookstore.

The thing that puts online stores up above physical bookstores is definitely the prices. For example, the book I purchased this week was through Book Depository, and they offer not just low prices, but free international delivery to most countries. The only way physical bookstores can compete with this is when they have sales where you can get something like three books for the price of two. Or they sometimes offer loyalty cards that can get you discounts and other benefits. I’m a member with the store I go to, so for every book I buy, I earn points which I can save and end up getting a book for free or at a discounted price. But even then, the prices at stores like Book Depository are just unbeatable, and it’s only one of many online stores with low prices.

The downside to ordering a book online is waiting for it to arrive. This isn’t a problem if you’re a very patient person, but if you’re like me, you wait by the door every day hoping the package will show up and slink off to bed each night disappointed if it doesn’t. Depending on where you live and which retailer you’re ordering from, delivery can be pretty quick. But even so, with physical bookstores you can just pick a book up, take it home, and you have it – it’s yours, and you can put it on your bookshelf to be admired and even start reading it straight away.

But in saying that, when the book you ordered online does finally arrive, it’s always so exciting. You get to open the package as if it’s a present that you’ve sent to yourself. While buying a book in person is definitely the faster option, both give you a different but similar experience of excitement. Whether its finding the book you want in the store and taking it up the counter to purchase, or arriving home to find the package waiting for you and ripping it open to find the shiny new book inside.

Browsing in person and online are different experiences. I myself prefer to walk around a bookstore and explore the great titles, with everything available right there in front of you. But online stores are also great for browsing in a different way. You can search for titles and authors you’re interested in and find things in the genre you like. And all the while you’re sitting down in the comfort of your own home.

When it comes down to it, neither buying books online or at physical bookstores is ultimately the best option. If your main concern is cost, then online stores are the way to go. I used to go to Book Depository all the time to save money, and I still do from time to time, especially if I can’t find the book I want in my local bookstore. But nowadays I do buy most of my books from physical stores because I like to support them seeing as online retail seems to be taking over. I’m not saying that I think everybody should do this – online shopping is the way of the future, and there’s no stopping that. But that’s just one of the reasons I buy most of my books from physical bookstores.

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Review: One Of Us Is Lying

This is a spoiler-free review. I will not be giving away any major plot details beyond the premise of the book. 

One Of Us Is Lying is the debut novel of Karen M. McManus. The young adult mystery follows four teenagers who become the prime suspects in a murder investigation after being the only witnesses to the death of their peer, Simon, in detention. Simon was well-known around the school for his gossip app, and the four suspects each had a secret that was set to be published online by Simon just twenty-four hours after his death. The police are certain that at least one of them are guilty. But who?

Since this is a spoiler-free review, I won’t be revealing the answer to that question. But I will say that I was genuinely surprised when the killer was revealed. There were clues placed throughout the novel that made it seem so obvious. I think if you looked at it hard enough or if you’ve read enough mystery novels it wouldn’t be too hard to figure out. Some aspects of this mystery were a bit predictable, but not in a way that ruined the reveal or the story behind it. Maybe other people who read this book will see the end coming from a mile away, but I don’t think that would completely ruin the story because what strikes me the most about the reveal isn’t who killed Simon, but why they did it.

Even aside from the plot, this book had a great cast of characters. There’s Bronwyn, the geek; Cooper, the jock; Nate, the bad boy; and Addy, the popular girl. When you first look at those labels it sounds like a total cliche – and it is, in the beginning. In the first chapter, there’s even jokes about how that group of people ending up in detention together is a typical 90’s teen movie. But the further into the novel you get, the more you realise that there’s so much more to these characters. And I’m pretty sure that’s the whole point. It’s clear that McManus is making a point about stereotypes. McManus succeeds at giving these characters originality by taking them out of these boxes and developing them thoroughly as the story progresses. By the end of the book, which had a satisfying conclusion, I found myself sad that the journey with these characters was over.

The book is written in split-perspectives between these four characters, each one in first-person, present-tense. The one issue I did have was that it felt like each character had the same voice. There was nothing about the language apart from the dialogue to separate these characters, which is important in split-perspective novels. In saying that, this is something that is incredibly hard to achieve, and McManus has beautiful writing and well fleshed-out characters, so it’s easy to overlook.

I definitely recommend this book. I think anyone who loves mystery novels or books about high school should add it to the top of their ever-growing pile of unread books immediately. I predict that within the year, this will be picked up by Netflix to become their next big show.

MY RATING: 9/10

READ IF YOU ENJOYED:
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK ON GOODREADS

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE IT ON BOOK DEPOSITORY 

If you enjoyed this post be sure to give it a like, or you can comment to share your thoughts on the book. Please follow me if you’d like to be notified when I post new reviews and check out my bookish instagram account @thebookperson101