There’s nothing as satisfying as curling up with a good book. Here in Canada, the winter has already settled in (we had over 15 centimeters of snow last week!) so I’m feeling the urge to stay inside, make a cup of hot chocolate, and read a good book!
Saving money on books is easy AND awesome
I love to read. I’ve been an avid reader since I was a kid, and I still prefer reading printed books over ebooks. That being said – ebooks definitely have their benefits!
But I’m also cheap. So I’ve got three great ways to save money on books, which I’ve listed in order of cost and convenience:
- Download books
- Borrow books
- Buy books second-hand
Downloading books
Downloading books is awesome. You don’t have to set foot outside your door to do it- heck, you don’t even have to get off your couch to access them! And there are plenty of sites that offer them for free. Here are some of the most popular ones:
- Kobo offers plenty of free eBooks. They’ve got something from every genre (mystery, romance, science fiction, horror, etc.).
- Gutenburg offers anything considered open source – over 60,000 free eBooks. You can even read them online in HTML – a good way to procrastinate at work!
- Open Culture Books offers over 800 free eBooks to your Kindle, iPad/iPhone, computer, smartphone or e-reader, and over 1000 free audiobooks. There’s everything from the “Oz” tales to Jules Verne to Nietzsche.
- Goodreads is a great, free site (and app!) that you can use to track all of the books you’ve read. It also suggests books that may interest you based on the books you log. The books it offers for free are mostly classics, and some more modern ones (usually only an excerpt is available for those).
- Your local library also offers ebooks. They disappear after their checkout period is done, so you don’t have to worry about returning them or paying any fines.
Borrowing books
- Your best bet for borrowing books is your local library. Yes, libraries are still out there and they are going strong. While you still have to go into the library to get the actual book, you can search their entire catalog online, and renew books online as well. If you truly can’t physically get to a library, many of them also will bring books to you and and pick them up! Contact your local library for details.
- Friends! If you have a friend who loves to buy books, and isn’t picky about lending them, you can always borrow from them. I borrowed the entire Harry Potter series from various people, as well as lots of other books!
Buying books second-hand
Buying books second-hand doesn’t isn’t as cheap as getting them for free, but the plus side is the book is yours FOREVER, and you don’t have to worry about returning it, or what to do if it gets damaged. Some people really like reading in the bath, and I’d only recommend this if you own the book (I’d definitely NOT recommend it with an e-reader!) :). Here are three great ways to find second-hand books:
- The library! That’s right, libraries will sell books they no longer need (for example, they have too many copies of a bestseller from 5 years ago) for very cheap. They are usually only a dollar or two, and you are helping support your local library when you buy them!
- Used good stores. Stores like the Salvation Army, Goodwill, and Value Village tend to get books donated to them, and you can definitely pick up some books on the cheap at any of these places.
- Second-hand book stores. These aren’t as common, but they still exist. They offer more variety than the library or a used goods store, but they will usually be more expensive as the owner did have to pay for the books in the first place!
Happy reading!
You’ve now learned three great ways to save money on books:
- Download them – it’s free and easy, and you don’t even have to leave the house!
- Borrow or swap them – just ask a friend or check out your local library.
- Buy them second-hand. You can save lots of money buy getting them “gently used” from your library, a used good stores, or a second-hand bookstore!
No matter how you get your books, you can rest secure that reading has so many benefits!
Happy reading!
