Booking Through Thursday (2) - Something Old, Something New

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme (mostly) about books and reading.

---The BTT question for the week is:

All other things being equal–do you prefer used books? Or new books? (The physical speciman, that is, not the title.) Does your preference differentiate between a standard kind of used book, and a pristine, leather-bound copy?

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If I really, really want the books, I definitely prefer new books. I want my own pristine, not leather-bound (since they're too fancy and expensive), copy of a book - if it is not available I'd take the paperback; but of course I have to consider the amount of money I could shed for that particular book.
I want a new one, since I want to have the feeling that this book, this precious copy is MINE. There is a sense of ownership, a sense that I am the first owner - no one has put his or her own mark in it. This is my preference for the books that are published today.
However, despite the Gollum-like obsession above, most of the books that I have are ebook copies (I'm all for the environment) and I'm also quite satisfied to own second-hand books particularly if they are published so long ago that they stopped printing them. I also like to scour second-hand bookstores for books and I'd rejoice if I find books that are affordable that I wanted to own for so long.    
Funny since I found boxes and trunks of old books in my ancestral home that were owned by my grandparents and I absolutely love them.
These antiquated books have a certain character to them. Knowing that these books were owned by my grandparents and were published at a time that is so different from today, it is like having a piece of history in your hands; and as I flip through the pages, read the words penned so long ago AND also read the little side notes on the margins by the previous owners, it is like stepping through time allowing me to have a glimpse of what was long ago.
I want my books that I buy by myself to be new but I also adore old books.