I have a confession to make. I cry over books ALL THE TIME. 

It’s really bad and quite embarrassing actually. One time on vacation I was sharing a room with my family and while everyone was trying to go to sleep I was loudly sobbing over a book and everyone started laughing at me. 

It’s kind of crazy though, the fact that tiny words on paper can make me ugly cry. Sometimes I wonder why I put myself through the absolute torture that books put me through. But then I remember that books don’t just make me cry, they make me feel happy and excited, and I love immersing myself with them. Time seems to stop when I’m reading. It’s like I get sucked into this tiny world where as sad as everything is, the stories have happy endings. 

But I’m also a broke freshman with no job or source of income. I’m that girl who walks into a bookstore, picks up a book and then immediately puts it back on the shelf after seeing that tiny little “$21.99” on the bottom corner of said book. So then, how do I read if I can’t pay for the books? 

Let me tell you, I have found THE solution. 

This free solution comes in the form of a little website called Anna’s Archive. I can download any type of book I want onto the “Books” app. A quick search on TikTok will help explain just how to download them step by step.

With this trick, I end up reading most of my books on my phone, which is pretty convenient to carry around. However, I’ve noticed other freshmen in my class take real 2 pound hardcover books out of their backpacks!

To learn more, I interviewed Ruby Gaston, Angie Mercado, Harper Corp, and Jessa Hanchett to see why they’re willing to pay for books and carry them around. I found their passion for reading impressive.

 Ruby Gaston

Ruby is an example of a crazy book worm who enjoys reading and doesn’t mind carrying around physical books. 

“It’s so crazy to me how when you like to write down words, it can make someone cry or laugh. It’s so interesting to me and I just love how when I’m reading I’m not here. I’m in there,” she said. 

Ruby finds herself enjoying romance and fantasy books. One of her favorite book series is the Boys Of Tommen series by Chloe Walsh. 

This series is not a small 200 paged book series whatsoever. All six books in the series have over 400 pages making them thick and chunky. Not to mention that the author has revealed that the series is unfinished and there will be up to 12 books in total! That’s a lot of bookshelf space! 

However, Ruby said that no matter how thick the book is she will never read them on her phone because she gets easily distracted while on it. 

“I felt like I didn’t read as long. And I just went on my phone instead of actually reading,” she said. 

She also states that she overall likes physical books better. “I like how it feels in my hands and I love turning the pages and I just, I feel like I’m more in that world when I’m reading a physical book.”

Angie Mercado 

Angie started reading for enjoyment in fourth grade when her aunt introduced her to the magical world of books. 

“She used to read “The Brothers Grim” to me all the time and that’s what got me into reading,” she said. 

In the beginning Angie found herself reading fantasy books like Percy Jackson and Harry Potter but as she got older, she started leaning towards the romance genre. More specifically romantasy (fantasy romance). One of her favorite series from that genre being the booktok fan favorite, the “Once Upon a Broken Heart” series by Stephanie Garber. 

To Angie, the greatest appeal of physical books is the sensory experience.

“I like how they smell. Like old books smell really good,” she said. “And I just like flipping the pages ’cause it feels, like, magical.”

One of Angie’s biggest “No’s” as a reader is sharing books. She’s scared that they will get ruined. And with these high prices, it’s not like she can go buy another copy of the same book just because. So if she doesn’t like sharing books or reading online, her only option is to buy the books herself. But how does she afford them? She asks her parents. And while this might work sometimes, what happens when they say no to a book that you’ve been dying to read? 

Harper Corp 

Harper now enjoys reading dystopian books, which is a sub-genre for science fiction books. 

When asked why she enjoys dystopian fiction Harper said, “It’s just really interesting to imagine a world that’s not our own but like, could be ours. Like it just gives you stuff to think about and that’s why I like reading.”

And as a way to help save some money and still get the books she likes, she buys used books.  

“I order used books on websites where they’re priced down or I go to Half Off Books and Records in downtown Fullerton where the books are half off,” she said.

She enjoys buying physical books since it helps her feel more connected to the book.

“When you have a book online, you don’t get to keep it forever and like, it’s not really yours,” Harper said. “But when you have a physical book, you can put it on your bookshelf and it’s there whenever you wanna read it.”

Half Off Books and Records is a bookstore where they sell used books that are in very good condition for so much cheaper than stores like Barnes and Noble. Prices range from $4.99 to $16.99, which is much cheaper compared to the $20 paperbacks you will get at Barnes and Noble.

“I prefer well-loved books most of the time rather than like freshly bought ones,” Harper said.

Jessa Hanchett

However, some people like Jessa say they are Barnes and Noble girlies through and through. 

“I’m a Barnes and Noble kid now. I’m going today actually ’cause a new book just came out for a series I’m reading,” she said. 

In fact, Jessa likes special edition covers which tend to be more expensive, and often buys them from Barnes and Noble. So, she just chooses to suck it up and spend every last penny on her books. 

These are just a few of many solutions to being able to own the books you love. But why are these girls going through all this hassle to buy words on paper with a pretty cover? 

For Jessa, hard copies feel better. “I like feeling them in my hand, you know? They’re comforting for me,” Jessa said. “Also, if I own them, I like to annotate or highlight stuff.”

Jessa says that she first learned to read in Spanish because she was in a dual language program. Then she fell in love with reading in second grade, when she started reading in English.

“My mom would read to me every night when I was little. Like, I think she read Little Woman to me in second grade,” Jessa said. “When I really started loving reading was when my second grade teacher would get novels, and she would read to us out loud from that novel every day.”