If you are like me paying retail prices for books would soon lead to sitting on a street corner homeless with a massive stack of books. Now, don't get me wrong I do occasionally splurge. But the days of spending all my money at the bookstore stopped when I started being an adult. So, how do I keep myself in reading materials without breaking the bank? Here are fifteen ways I save money while still keeping me in reading material.
15. Amazon has a lending program where your friends can give you a two week loan of books that are in their library.
14. Flea Markets are often an unexpected source for books. Sometimes people are there for the weekend, yard sale style, or they can have a used bookstore they open every weekend. You can often develop a relationship with the vendor and have them keep you in mind while they are hunting books.
13. Friends and family always offer a chance for a freebie. Never underestimate the power of letting people know about your passion. This is a great tip for networking in general, but it is also a good way to score books. I don't know how many times I've been given books because people know I'm a reader.
12. Internet groups can be an alternative if you live away from people, don't have friends that read or, the horror, friends that don't read your style of books. These are hit or miss as far as scoring books, but you could come out with a friend or two at least.
11. E-readers can save you money on books in the long run. I have the basic Kindle, no bells and whistles, and I paid 75 bucks taxes and all. I have yet to pay money for an eBook.
10.Copyright free ebooks are available at most large online book sellers for free, but there are also sites specifically dedicated to the them like Project Gutenburg.
9. EBook clubs like Pixel of Ink and Bookbub offer greatly discounted and FREE ebooks that you can download from Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, Smashbooks, and others.
8. The Library is still a great place to acquire books to read, some including mine have eBook lending where you can download a loaned copy of the book. You can also request specific books. Libraries often have a system where they can have a requested book sent from another library. And if you hang out there instead of a coffee shop, you can even influence what kind of books get purchased.
7. Bookworm friends can significantly reduce the cost of supporting your reading habit. My friends and I did a book exchange every couple of weeks for a whole summer. We would bring books we didn't want and go through each other's library for books to borrow. Plus an excuse to get together talk books and hang out.
6. Book Mooch and Paperback Swap offers books at the cost of shipping or at a reduced price. Great place to get rid of multiple copies.
5. Online book sellers offer free ebooks. Just do a keyword search, "free Nook books" at bandn.com for example.
4. Thrift stores are a great place to find reduced books. Think of it more as a treasure hunt than a milk run. You will find gems, but there will be times you have to settle or leave entirely empty handed.
3. Being a test reader can get you books, and you can even influence how it comes together before it goes to print. Alpha testers have to deal with copy editing issues like grammar. Beta testers have to read for overall flow. And always a plus you can build a relationship with authors.
2. Used book stores are a great place to get reduced books; most used book stores have a resell program that allows you to sell books for store credit. They pick out what they want, so be prepared to comeback with at least one book. I like the clearance shelves, but I always browse to see if any of my authors' latest books have made their way there.
1. Yard Sales are my favorite place to get books. They are more of a gamble than thrift stores. But, you can haggle and most sellers just want to get rid of them.
I'm always looking for new ways to get books on the cheap. Do you have a method I don't know about? What's your best find? Did I teach you a new method? Comment below.
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