Booknerds…National Buy A Book Day Is Here Again!

Tomorrow is National Buy A Book Day!! This is my fourth year participating in this magnanimous holiday of all things literary and I hope you’ll join me! But in case you’re new here and aren’t sure what NBaBD is or how to do it, let me help you out fellow bookwormian.

What is the purpose of National Buy A Book Day?

Um…to buy a book! To promote literacy! To support and author! To support a bookstore! Basically, why wouldn’t you buy a book?

I tend to be fairly picky with the books I buy because shelf space is a precious commodity (kind of like beachside property…only rarer) and hubby and I live in a small space (soon to get smaller because #tinyhouse) so we try to keep from clutter or impulse buys and the like. BUT…National Buy A Book Day (okay, I’m going to start calling it NBaBD because that’s far less difficult to type) is the one time I let myself buy a book I usually wouldn’t. Or a book I’ve been curious about.

There are no rules.

Okay, this was a “holiday” made up by a bookworm at some point in the past and there are no rules. You can

How to totally rock National Buy A Book Day

Now, NBaBD doesn’t have any rules other than go buy a book, but I have a few suggestions on how to navigate these waters of book-buying and bookwormish excitement:

1. Visit your local bookstore.

My favorite way to rock NBaBD is to purchase my book from local bookstore. Because by purchasing a book through them, that supports an author as well as a local business. (With used bookstores you can always ask the owners if they can get a specific book in for you new from the author or publisher so that it continues that support.) So I’ll go to a local bookstore, browse, and then buy a fabulously new book!

Last year, I went with some drool-worthy nonfiction: THE FELLOWSHIP: The Literary Lives of the Inklings and I adored this book. (Okay, it’s thick, so I haven’t actually finished it. But what I’ve read is like catnip to my inner history-buff-brain.)

2. If you don’t have a local bookstore, go online or through author’s website.

Not all of us have local bookstores. I’ve been there, I understand. And online is a lot easier (especially if you can’t get out of the house on NBaBD because of children/pets/work/dragons) so pop online and snag a book that way. You can often find links through the author’s website to purchase the book of your dreams.

3. If your bookstore doesn’t carry the book you want…request it!

Sometimes you do have a bookstore, but you have some favorite indie authors whose books aren’t in all the nooks and crannies yet. Or maybe they just don’t have the book you want. Go in and request it! Bookstores are almost always happy to order in something you want, and then it’s supporting both the store and the author!

4. Tell a friend

Why not support an author/bookstore/story by forcing inviting your friend to buy a book? Take them with you to the store! Point out all your favorite books until they buy one just to make you stop fangirling.

5. Pre-order a book online

Sometimes the book we want isn’t available yet. *cough* Renegades *cough* so it’s totally acceptable to pre-order a book online for NBaBD.

6. Spread the word

Use the hashtags #BuyaBookDay or #NationalBuyABookDay or #NBaBD or #september7 to spread the word. Tell friends, tell family, tell your bookstore. Post photos of the book you bought (and please tag me on social media so I can see and squeal bookwormish glee with you!) and then spend the rest of the day reading.

Nadine’s Prior NBaBD Purchases:

• 2014: The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson and I really enjoyed it!
• 2015: Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson and….still haven’t read it. *hides*
• 2016: The Literary Lives of the Inklings by Philip & Carol Zaleski and it’s blowing my mind. Best read on a train.
• 2017: I’ll let you know tomorrow via my Twitter, Instagram, and/or Facebook!

Book Recommendations

Not sure what book to get? Here are some of my favorite reads from this year to help get you started. 😉 Click the photo for links.

I’ve given you ample heads up. A whole day to prepare and grab those pennies from the couch cushions before your sibling can. And, if you live in Australia then you probably don’t even have to wait. By the time you read this it’s likely already NBaBD and you can run outside and swim in a sea of pages and ink and imagination!

So, what book are you going to buy tomorrow?

Have you ever participated in National Buy A Book Day before?