Buying books?

I had a discussion with my daughter at Christmas time. One of her friends was very, very into the Twilight series but was not buying the latest book until after payday. My daughter, a single, twenty-something, with a good job, was worried about her friend. Could she really be this poor? I worried that I hadn't presented the basics of the economy and budgets, but my daughter actually works in the accounting department of a rather large company. She must be going to hear about this stuff soon.
On the other hand, maybe not. There seems to be a disconnect with so many people about this recession. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that retail sales in April declined for the second month in a row. The Dow took a tumble on the news. Frankly, Wall Street may have been surprised by the figures, but I wasn't. I knew I hadn't been shopping in April, nor were a lot of my acquaintance. We were hiding out at home, trying to figure out how to pay our taxes.
Be that as it may, sales at bookstores rose last month even if only by .3%. I'm pretty sure that resale of books--at garage sales, Craig's list and e-bay is probably pretty good too. Too bad the stock market doesn't take note of those outlets.
I hear Star Trek did pretty well last weekend at the box office too. So although other news reports are blaring about vacations canceled and a travel industry in trouble, we all need to have someplace to escape to.
So here's the question: Are you buying books? Waiting for payday? Going to the library?
And while you're at it--what makes you buy a book? Reviews? Ads in your favorite magazine? Tell all!

Christine Duncan is the author of the Kaye Berreano mystery series.

Does the Economy affect YOUR Reading Habits?

It's Christmas time and if the news about the economy is to be believed, we're all broke. So my question to you is, how is this affecting your reading? I don't just mean your book buying habits. I've seen no surveys on this issue but I do have a couple of friends who work in libraries who assure me that they are busier than ever. I'm guessing that means two things: 1. more people are getting books from the libraries because they are cutting back on buying. 2. Lots of mothers can't afford after-school programs and so they are telling the kids to go to the library after school (Hey, it happens.)
This isn't one of those buy more books for Christmas posts, you'll see enough of these in the blogsphere right now. Although, by all means, buy more books. They are relatively inexpensive, very portable and can provide a very emotional experience. Buy Safe House, Reader's Eden is having a 40% off sale for Christmas.
My question though is more about how you navigate tough times. Do you gravitate towards less scary books when things are stressful? Is the current economy making you think more cozy mystery rather than tense thriller? Are you crossing horror totally off your list right now and gravitating towards Romance? Or do you tend to read the same genre regardless of what's happening? Take a sec, and tell me what you think.