Maybe not so bad?

Paperback Writer has an interesting post about dollar stores and books. I have to admit that I do buy fiction books from the dollar store. Almost every time that I have bought one from the dollar store, I have ended up buying the author's other books.

I understand that this is your livelyhood, but to some, remainders are the only books they can afford. I know. I was there. When you go to buy a book and your determining factors are that is worth three hours of wiping asses, half the phone bill, or two pairs of jeans that fit your son, that nice new shiny hardcover becomes a little less appealing. When you are using a $50 gift certificate for your birthday and wishing it came from Walmart so that you could get food/clothes for the kiddies, that bargain bin of books at the bookstore looks a whole lot more enticing.

In fact, the obsession my oldest son is having with a particular series started with a book from the dollar store. A year later, he has the whole set and so do I.

Personally, this is not as tragic as another type of low-cost/no-cost book getting. You know who I am talking about. The ones that only own a phone book and some free pamphlets. They hound you to borrow your books and go to the library. But, not once have they ever handed over the almighty dollar to buy one.

For years, all I could afford was bargain bin or dollar store books. Now, it's a different story. While I cannot go out and buy a ton of brand new books, I can get two or three a month. I end up replacing my collection every couple of years due to wear. You don't know how many books I've read until they literally fall apart. Now, I'm starting to do this with all those books from the dollar store. I get to explore those worlds first opened up to me when I was poor. I get to buy the other books that I missed by those authors because I was broke.

I'm sorry if the authors that find themselves on a dollar store shelf find that a bad thing. Maybe more good has come from it than you realize. I have spent about $200 buying books from authors I first found at the dollar store/bargain bin. Last year alone. I might not have picked up their books had it not been for my lack of money combined with my passion for reading.