If you're on the hunt for a paperback of 'Cold-Blooded' (titles sometimes appear as 'Cold Blooded' or with a hyphen depending on the edition), the first thing I do is pin down the exact edition and author—there are a surprising number of books with that title. If you know the author or have the ISBN, you’ll save yourself a lot of scroller's misery. I usually check the publisher’s site first because they sometimes link to the official paperback release or list print runs. If that fails, a quick ISBN search on Google or WorldCat will show which stores carry that specific edition.
After that I start with the big retailers because they’re fast and predictable: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookshop.org (which is great if I want to support indie bookstores). For UK readers, Waterstones and Blackwell’s are solid bets; down under, try Dymocks. If you prefer new but not massive-corporation purchases, I’ll often call my local indie bookstore and ask them to order the paperback via their distributor—many shops can get it through Ingram within a few days. I’ve done this on a rainy afternoon, sipping terrible coffee while the shop checked the publisher catalog; there’s a small thrill when they say, “We can have that for you.”
Used copies are my guilty pleasure: AbeBooks, Alibris, ThriftBooks, and eBay often have affordable or rare paperback editions. ThriftBooks tends to be great for mass-market paperbacks in decent condition, whereas AbeBooks is my go-to for scarce or out-of-print copies. If you want to check libraries or borrow first, WorldCat and your local library’s app (Libby/OverDrive) are lifesavers. One last tip: if you want a quick find, search the full title in quotes plus the author name on Google, then add “paperback” to filter results. If you tell me the author or drop the ISBN, I can help track down the cheapest new copy, a collectible edition, or a nearby store where you can pick it up and avoid shipping fees.