I know I have not written in a bit but have been busy on my end with life events and summer. So I have been wanting to write a post about this for a while now and as I am taking a break from my book my words and thoughts are a little clearer so what better time to write about how I acquire books!
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| Property of A Bipolar Mom and Her Daily Life- A picture of my favorite used book store |
If you do not know I am a book worm and I actually family members past and present that would have their nose in a book. I am always trying to seek out new authors, new reads, and so forth to keep my bookish habit appeased. Now even though this hobby is on the cheaper side of hobbies it can still get expensive very quickly for the most avid reader to the person who picks up a book up now and then.
So here are my tips on how to get your books cheap or free!!!
1.
NEVER BUY THE BOOK WHEN IT FIRST COMES OUT! Twilight Series, Harry Potter, Fifty Shades of Gray, Hunger Games and so on the must reads and the must haves. Got you biting at the bit? Just say no! As amazing as most of these books are they will likely be hardcover and higher price. Wait until they publish it in soft cover. If you must have it hardcover buy it used!
2.
BUY YOUR BOOKS USED! Find a local used book store, 2nd Charles, library sales, thrift stores, and local garage sales to pick up books. Being a military family I have moved around a lot and one thing I always looked for is used book stores. I personally love locally owned used book stores because they usually have their own personality and charm! Most local used book stores will offer used books half of the retail price or cheaper. Also will have a credit system for turning in your used quality books! 2nd Charles is similar to a local used book store except they are a national chain and a sister company to Books-A-Million. They often run sales as well. The last sale I came across was on their clearance was buy one get one free and when you are a $15 budget you cannot hit payday better than that when the books are ranging between $0.50-1.00!
3.
GO TO YOUR LIBRARY! Who would have thought? Yep there are books there! I know I am being a little bit of a smart a** but you can check out books too read and return them to check out new ones. Just make sure to return them on time or you will have to pay the late fees like my brother has done for my sister-in-law more than once (not unless you turn it in on amnesty day). However, it has been brought to my attention that numerous libraries have set up eBook libraries as well that allow you to check out eBooks for a period of time on your device then will remove it when the time is up.
4.
STAY AWAY FROM BOOK CLUBS! Buy 4 books for $1? Sounds like a great deal but then you read the fine print and you have to buy X number of books at regular price in a certain time period. It really is a big hassle because what they do not also tell you in these book clubs is that pre-select books for you each month in which you have the option to opt out of in X amount of days before your card is charged and sent to you. You have to remember to opt out each month of their monthly selection if it is no the book you want and if you forget to opt out and they send the book you can either send it back to get partial refund (minus refund) or suck it up and keep it!!! In other words it is one big hassle and one big money waste!
5.
GET FREE BOOKS ON AMAZON! If you have a Kindle or the Kindle App you can get tons of books free on Amazon! I have probably over 900 books on my Kindle and I have probably only paid for only 20 since I have had my kindle for several years now. There are not only a lot up and coming authors offering their books for free (which I have a lot of) but well known authors such as Patterson, Bond, and Webb will offer one day for free. There are tons of sites that you can sign up for that can let you know which books are free or sale on Amazon that day. I do not use these sites I like the thrill of the hunt and actually like finding these gems on Amazon. That is how I found Peggy Webb, she was offering the first book in a funny series for free for one day I snagged it, read it, and now have purchased two of eBooks in the series (will be purchasing the rest down the road).
6.
FIND OTHER READERS! Find other bookworms in your area whether this a friend or a local book club. The point is if you find someone who also is an avid reader they maybe up for sharing, swapping, or giving a book they have read. The beautiful part of this you may discover a new author or a new genre of books!
7.
JOIN GOODREADS.COM! This is an amazing site for all readers. As much as love this site for just being for bookworm gathers. There are also two neat things about this site. Authors often join this site upcoming authors as well more famous authors. You can become their fans and in some cases they will even befriend you. I am friends with a couple of authors even a couple of known Authors. I have even had Authors message me offering me a free copy of their book in return for a free honest review usually on Amazon and/or Goodreads. The other thing Goodreads offer is giveaways! They have an area where authors, publishers, and groups run giveaways for books! What I like about it is pretty much 24/7 and in almost everything you can think of. You are not required to purchase anything and even not required to leave a review on the book you have won. Now I never win anything and I have won a couple books from them!
So there you have it how I have save on my love of reading!!!
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