[Grammar] I would go to the bookstore every week, and was looking for

[yi-ing]

Is this sentence OK? Are the verb tense below used correctly?

When I was teenage, I used to be a bookworm. I mean, I would go to the bookstore every week, and was looking for any new books, and was looking through them, and then would buy every book that was really interesting to me.

Would -> repeated actions in the past

 

[Matthew Wai]

I was a bookworm as a teenager. I would go to a bookstore every week, looking for new books. I would look through them and buy the ones really interesting to me.

 

[yi-ing]

Why did you use 'would' for "look through' not for 'look for'?

 

[Matthew Wai]

Because 'look through' is a main verb while 'looking for' is a modifier.

 

[yi-ing]

Because 'look through' is a main verb while 'looking for' is a modifier.

I didn't know that 'modifier' could be a verb, as well as adverbs and adjectives.
However, I still confused with what you suggested. I am not satisfied with your explanation.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I didn't know that 'modifier' could be a verb

'We sat talking for hours.'—quoted from http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/sit?q=sit
'Sat' is a verb, but 'talking' is a modifier rather than a verb.

 

[emsr2d2]

The original is a little wordy.

When I was a teenager, I was a real bookworm. Every week, I would go to the local bookstore, searching for new and interesting books to buy.

 

[yi-ing]

searching for new and interesting books to buy.

You meant:
Every week, I would go to the local bookstore, and was searching for new and interesting books to buy.

 

[emsr2d2]

No. I did not mean that. I meant exactly what I wrote, which is natural and grammatical.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I consider the underlined part wrong.

 

[yi-ing]

Oh!
I think it was a reduced adverb clause.
Because I was searching for new and interesting books to buy, every week, I would go to the local bookstore.
Is it correct now?

 

[Matthew Wai]

No one replied, so I try.

I was often searching for new and interesting books to buy, so I would go to the local bookstore every week.

 

[emsr2d2]

Using both "often" and "every week" seems a bit redundant to me.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I added 'often' because 'was searching' alone may refer to a particular moment in the past.

 

[emsr2d2]

I'd use something like "I used to enjoy searching for ..., so I would visit the bookstore every week."