Have you ever bought a book and discovered

Use this forum for book and reading discussion that doesn't fall into another category. Talk about books, genres, reading issues, general literature, and any other topic of particular interest to readers. If you want to start a thread about a specific book or a specific series, please do that in the section below this one.
User avatar
Jolyon Trevelyan
Posts: 467
Joined: 13 May 2015, 18:07
Favorite Author: Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Bookshelf Size: 10
fav_author_id: 2563

Have you ever bought a book and discovered

Post by Jolyon Trevelyan »

Have you ever bought a book and discovered that you already had it ?


I have done that once. A book about the French revolution. For some reason i forgot i had it
A mistake is simply another way of doing things
User avatar
Fran
Posts: 28072
Joined: 10 Aug 2009, 12:46
Favorite Author: David Mitchell
Favorite Book: Anna Karenina
Currently Reading: Hide and Seek
Bookshelf Size: 1208
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-fran.html
Reading Device: B00I15SB16
fav_author_id: 3104

Post by Fran »

Yes, it's been known to happen to me too
We fade away, but vivid in our eyes
A world is born again that never dies.
- My Home by Clive James
User avatar
zjones99
Posts: 74
Joined: 16 Jul 2015, 09:09
Favorite Author: John Green
Currently Reading: Binge
Bookshelf Size: 19
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-zjones99.html
fav_author_id: 2072

Post by zjones99 »

I accidentally bought an autobiography of Abraham Lincoln thinking it would be really interesting, only to find it sitting there on my shelf laughing at me.
User avatar
theyounglibrarian
Posts: 8
Joined: 16 Jul 2015, 19:04
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by theyounglibrarian »

I myself have never done this, however this has happened to my mother at Christmas. She had gotten me the same book the year before, and accidentally got me the same book again. I never did tell her that I already had it as I couldn't bring myself to ruin her moment. She seemed so proud that she had picked out a book that I would enjoy. Honestly, I still have both copies and when she asks me about it, I just tell her I accidentally bought another copy.
User avatar
maroki13
Posts: 55
Joined: 27 Jun 2015, 14:21
Favorite Author: Diana Gabaldon
Bookshelf Size: 41
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-maroki13.html
Latest Review: "Whispers from the East" by Amie Ali
fav_author_id: 2373

Post by maroki13 »

Yes, it has happened to me. It also happens to me at the library, where I'll check out a book and start reading only to discover I've already read it.
Latest Review: "Whispers from the East" by Amie Ali
User avatar
gali
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 53652
Joined: 22 Oct 2013, 07:12
Favorite Author: Agatha Christie
Currently Reading: The Suite Life
Bookshelf Size: 2287
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-gali.html
Reading Device: B00I15SB16
Publishing Contest Votes: 0
fav_author_id: 2484

Post by gali »

Yes, it happened to me as well. 8)
A retired Admin/Mod

Pronouns: She/Her

"In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you." (Mortimer J. Adler)
fmg
Posts: 13
Joined: 16 Jul 2015, 21:43
Currently Reading: Atonement
Bookshelf Size: 57

Post by fmg »

I have bought a few books only to discover that a member of my family owns it. But I don't think I've ever bought the same book twice.
User avatar
ashley_claire
Posts: 410
Joined: 03 Mar 2015, 03:13
Favorite Book: The Prince of Tides
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 158
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ashley-claire.html
Latest Review: One Way or Another by Mary J. Williams

Post by ashley_claire »

Yes, especially when I go to library sales or somewhere that I am buying a lot of books and don't really have time to thoroughly read the back cover of them all.
User avatar
bookstra
Posts: 11
Joined: 14 Jul 2015, 10:53
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by bookstra »

Oh yes, I've also had this several times! Sometimes though, it's also on purpose. For example, I have several versions of Alice in Wonderland :)
User avatar
LivreAmour217
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 2043
Joined: 02 Oct 2014, 12:42
Favorite Author: Too many to count
Favorite Book: Ditto
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 294
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-livreamour217.html
Latest Review: Island Games by Caleb J. Boyer

Post by LivreAmour217 »

I've been given copies of books that I already own, but I don't think I've ever done this. However, it does sound like something I would do! :)
"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." - Albert Einstein
patrickt
Posts: 183
Joined: 31 Jul 2010, 08:56
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by patrickt »

Of course. When I was quite young I bought a Mickey Spillane paperback. As soon as I read the first paragraph I knew I'd read it before but I also knew I'd never read that title before. Then I saw the fine print, "Formerly titled....." I thought, "Those rotten S.O.B.s." I quit reading Mickey Spillane but now I'd note the publisher and quit them.

It's harder now for me to remember the books I've read in detail. It's not my mind or memory going. I thinks it's instead of hundreds of books I have thousands up there.
keyana_taylor
Posts: 18
Joined: 14 Jul 2015, 08:54
Bookshelf Size: 20
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-keyana-taylor.html
Latest Review: "An end to the Thrill" by Varun Kumar
Reading Device: B00IKPYKWG

Post by keyana_taylor »

yes i've done this a ton of times!. Mostly when it comes out with two different covers. I'll think its a different book due to the cover and end up with the same book at home.
Latest Review: "An end to the Thrill" by Varun Kumar
User avatar
Sarah Clay
Posts: 106
Joined: 05 Jul 2015, 15:29
Favorite Author: Charles Dickens
Currently Reading: Lost in the Wilderness
Bookshelf Size: 72
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sarah-clay.html
Latest Review: "The Lob Mob" by Tell Tale
fav_author_id: 2384

Post by Sarah Clay »

This has never happened to me, but I do tend to purposefully buy several copies of the same classic novels that are old and worn out (or have really nice covers) just to have them. :)
Latest Review: "The Lob Mob" by Tell Tale
User avatar
memory
Posts: 88
Joined: 08 Apr 2015, 13:23
Bookshelf Size: 21
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-memory.html
Latest Review: "Rogue & Royal" by Alan S. Blood

Post by memory »

I haven't done this when purchasing a book, but I have definitely done it at the library. The covers all run together, but I usually figure it out after a few paragraphs or a chapter at most that I have read the book before.
Latest Review: "Rogue & Royal" by Alan S. Blood
User avatar
MadelynNicole
Posts: 44
Joined: 30 Jul 2015, 07:22
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... 4">Ender's Game</a>
Currently Reading: Mark of the Remaker
Bookshelf Size: 54
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-madelynnicole.html
Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU

Post by MadelynNicole »

Yup. I accidentally did this with two books last week... Now I own then in both paperback and hardback.
Post Reply

Return to “General Book & Reading Discussion”