Guest Post: Feed Your Reading Habit Without Breaking the Bank
by Heather Smith
If you are anything like me, you could devour a new book every day. Masterpieces, whodunits, fiction or nonfiction; it doesn’t really matter as long as you have text in front of you. But how do you keep up with your reading obsession without breaking the bank? After all, all that paper costs a pretty penny. Well, here are a few ways to keep reading without going broke.
1. The Library – Okay, so that’s obvious. The library has always been the first place to go for free books. But did you know you could order books from other branches online? Yes, that’s right. If your local library doesn’t have a copy, you can order a copy of the book you want online and have it delivered, free, and held just for you. What a bargain! Additionally, libraries frequently have book sales where you can buy older books for pennies on the dollar. Great for those tomes you just have to keep on hand!
2. Book resellers – Where I live there is an extraordinary store called Half Price Books. Old books, new books, big books, slick books, even Dr. Seuss books all for half price or less. Comics, cook books, and children’s books fill up aisles of reading material. There is even a discount section where all the books are a dollar. Your town may not have a Half Price, but there are comparable stores all over.
3. Book Swap – Online book swapping websites are a big deal. There are many sites that agree to exchange paperback books for only the shipping costs.
4. Book Reader – I adore my Kindle. Yes, I know, it is not a real book, and I fought against it for a while. But once you get trapped on a plane for a few hours, long enough to complete a book or two, you recognize how great the little gizmo is. I’m a skinflint, so I haven’t actually paid for a single book. I found Amazon’s free e-book list and am reading my way through that, one classic at a time. Even the new novels are cheaper to download than to buy in most stores.
5. Online merchant– Buying books online, secondhand, means big savings. Amazon and EBay have tons of books for just a penny, plus shipping.
6. Amateurs – Excellent writing doesn’t always mean printed. There are a lot of wonderful, unpublished writers out there. Websites like FictionPress.com let millions of writers share their unique work with the world, for gratis. Any theme or category you feel like reading, right in the palm of your hand. Yes, you may have to wade through a few typos, but you can also interact with the authors openly. How cool is that?
For bibliophiles like me, reading isn’t a luxury. I adore it too much to let it fall to the wayside, despite the impact on my financial plan. Mercifully, I have found a few ways to satiate my requirements without draining my wallet. If you adore books as much as I do, try one of these methods to stretch your dollar.
Author Bio
Heather Smith is an ex-nanny. Passionate about thought leadership and writing, Heather regularly contributes to various career, social media, public relations, branding, and parenting blogs/websites. She also provides value to become a nanny by giving advice on site design as well as the features and functionality to provide more and more value to nannies and families across the U.S. and Canada. She can be available at H.smith7295 [at] gmail.com.
