Being a book lover can get expensive, just how expensive obviously depends on how much you read but also to an extent, which country you live in.
The Library – For free books I’m sure most people know, the first stop should be the library. If you are still at school or university you will likely have a pretty good library, and no, they aren’t just full of textbooks. Some workplaces have libraries also, at least hospitals anyway. How good or bad they are vary but they are worth a look. Big cities and a lot of towns also have libraries, I used to spend a lot of time at the local library as a kid and this is a really good way of getting children into reading. If your library is difficult to get to or park near, don’t fret, a lot of libraries now also have a lot of ebooks and audiobooks that you can download at home in your PJs!
Giveaways – Next stop for free books is giveaways! There are actually a lot of these around. Unlike with the library the choice is limited to whatever books people happen to have and you might not win but they are worth a go. Goodreads is a good place to start. In the “Explore” section you will find a list of giveaways and there are loads! Sometimes there is only one copy of the book available but often multiple copies are up for grabs. It’s easy to enter, you just click on the book you’re interested in and fill in your information so why not give it a go? Other than Goodreads, a lot of those in the book community, book bloggers and book vloggers also host a lot of giveaways! You can find them on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter etc. Usually they are quite simple to enter, you normally have to follow them on social media, post a comment on their video or photo, things like that.
For the classics – The classics are basically free everywhere, unless you want a physical copy there is no need to ever pay for a classic. The easiest ways to get them on a digital device are either through an app, or on Amazon. Pretty much every book related app includes the classics for free and although Amazon often has multiple digital versions of the classics, there are always free ones.
Via email – There are also a few companies that send out daily emails with lists of free or greatly reduced books. Via one of these apparently thousands of people got a free copy of The Da Vinci Code back when it was first released, so you can find some good things there. Often they will be books you aren’t interested but there are a few hidden gems. The one I am most familiar with is BookBub. You can sign up on their website bookbub.com.
Charity shops – There are charity shops in every town, at least in the UK, and most will have a selection of books. Some charity shops however are dedicated to books and are amazing! Don’t think that just because they are charity shops the books will be things you aren’t interested in, you can often find some really great things in these shops. The people donating to these shops are likely just like you, at least to an extent, and getting rid of a book doesn’t mean it is a bad book, lots of people move and books are a pain to move with, and a lot of people don’t have much space for books.
Traditional bookshops – This is of course the obvious place for books! They have beautiful displays and great selections to lure you in but unfortunately they are often the most expensive option. Some of the bigger chains, like Waterstones, often have 3 for 2 deals so that can keep your spending down a little at least.
Online – There are a load of places online to buy books, this is where where you live comes into play quite a bit. It seems a lot of those in the online book community are based in the US and they all rave about Book Outlet. Now, they will ship internationally but those costs cut into the savings made on the books to the point that it might not be worth it to buy from them. For those in the UK the best places seem to be Book Depository and of course Amazon. Book Depository offer some great discounts, shipping is free worldwide but it can take a long time for things to arrive. So, I get most of my books from Amazon, it’s cheap, it’s easy, and things arrive quickly. I also get a lot of Kindle books so it makes sense for me. You can get some great deals, just this week I was browsing through my wishlist and found a load of the books I wanted had been reduced and cost next to nothing! I tend to think of prices for small things like books in terms of a meal at McDonalds, if it costs less than McDonalds I think of it as an amount of money I wont really miss.
I hope this has given you a few ideas about where to get the books you want without breaking the bank! Let me know in the comments if you have found any other good places!
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