Booking Through Thursday: Why Buy?

Today's Booking Through Thursday question:

I’ve asked, in the past, about whether you more often buy your books, or get them from libraries. What I want to know today, is, WHY BUY?

Even if you are a die-hard fan of the public library system, I’m betting you have at least ONE permanent resident of your bookshelves in your house. I’m betting that no real book-lover can go through life without owning at least one book. So … why that one? What made you buy the books that you actually own, even though your usual preference is to borrow and return them?

If you usually buy your books, tell me why. Why buy instead of borrow? Why shell out your hard-earned dollars for something you could get for free?

As much as I love my local library, it is woefully tiny and inadequately stocked for my reading needs. I do check out books - usually YA fiction or books I've heard about but am not positive I'll enjoy - but the majority of my books come from purchases. I think I've pretty much broken it down into three categories:
1. Books I know I'll love and want to read again. These are usually books by authors that I enjoy (Jane Austen, Chuck Palahniuk, Michael Chabon, Neil Gaiman) or graphic novels (Y: The Last Man, Fables, Sandman).
2. Books that I get super-cheap or as part of a gimmicky promotion. "Buy 2 Get 1 Free," Friends of the Library sale, the discount bin at Waldenbooks...
3. Books that I really want to read, but can't get from a friend/the library/BookMooch/BookCrossing. Sometimes these lead me to new books for category #1, and sometimes they are just a Big Mistake and end up being BookCrossed/BookMooched/donated/given away.

It seems insane to essentially waste money on books, but I can't help myself! They aren't that expensive, especially when compared to video games (another one of my passions), and I do try to get a deal on them when I do buy.

But you don't have to take my word for it. Visit Booking Through Thursday for more opinions.