For example...
This summer, I saw a book, New Miss India by Bhararti Mukherjee, that I really wanted was advertised in one of the local newspapers as being available at the local bookstore, which was having a 20% off sale.
The week of the sale I walked past that bookstore and saw the sign in the window about the upcoming sale, and then I noticed the book I wanted in the storefront display. I walk by that bookstore at least twice a day, so I saw the book and the ad for the sale a lot that week.
I really wanted that book and I couldn't wait to read it. It is exactly the kind of new book I'd been waiting to read.
However, the book was $15. As much as I love books, these days I have a hard time paying full price for books unless they are gifts for other people. In fact, I think I've only bought one new book for myself this year and it was $3.95 plus tax.
Generally, if I'm going to buy a book I wait for the price to go down or there to be some sort of discount deal. For the past few years I haven't been buying many new books for myself and have been sticking to paperbackswap.com (a book swapping site), the book nook (used book sale corner) at the library I used to work at, a second hand book store, and used book sales put on by public libraries in the Des Moines area. I only used those options when my needs could not be met at the public library I worked at.
Even though I really wanted this book, I decided to wait and not by it. I chose the frugal route of putting it on hold at the local public library. The library had ordered the book, so I put my name of the waiting list and I delayed my gratification of reading the book significantly by waiting for the book to be available at the library.
It ended up being worth it. The book was exactly the kind of book I had been wanting to read. Though, the ending wasn't as strong as I had hoped. I greatly enjoyed the book. It ended up not being a book I would want to reread so I was glad that I waited checked it out from and didn't buy it.
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