Have you ever taken a glance at your beautiful bookshelves filled with hundreds of unread books and worried that maybe you're spending a bit more than you should? Or maybe you bought a really expensive limited edition copy of a book but didn't enjoy reading the content as much and felt unsatisfied? Reading books has been my favorite hobby for years now and I have had the urge to buy every book out there.
But one day I reached a point when I felt like I was merely buying books and not so much reading them. There have been several times when I bought really expensive hardcovers but the stories was just average. I felt like I needed a change here, and so I recently have adapted ways I can read more books by spending a lot less money.
Here are seven tips to help you save money on books:
1. Take more trips to the library Instead of the bookstore
I have always been very fascinated by libraries because I feel the whole concept is so cool. I find it to be very calming when you sit and read in a library because it is so quiet. It is also a pretty great feeling to be surrounded by thousands of books.
Browsing the library has led me to discover some of my favorite books. The library has more interesting books than you might think and may even take suggestions if they do not have the book you were looking for. If this is the case, just ask them if they can order it for you.
Libraries are the best source for reading books if you feel that you don't need to own the books or that collecting books isn't something that makes you happy anymore. I promise you, a library card is an absolute must for a book reader. So, be it your local public library or the one at your school, get a library card issued as soon as you can.
2. Invest in a Kindle
A Kindle is a device that lets you browse, borrow, or buy eBooks without harming your eyes like other tablets. It's just like looking at a page of a book and you can adjust the light for night reading as well. While I agree that physical books will always be the best form of reading, I think there are several pros of switching to eBooks.
For one, the eBook editions are much cheaper compared to the physical copies of books. And two, if you are traveling, you don't need to add book weight to your luggage since you can carry several books in your Kindle. You can also get the Kindle app installed on your phone and that will give you several perks too. Suppose you are stuck at the dentist's office or in a line: you may not be carrying a physical book or your Kindle device with you, but since you do carry your phone, you can easily catch up on your reading while you wait.
3. Get an audiobook subscription
You might feel a bit hesitant switching to audiobooks, but they are truly amazing for many reasons. Most audiobooks are narrated by professionals, and they can really make the book come alive. Some audiobooks are even narrated by the author themselves which gives a great experience too.
Neil Gaiman is one such author who narrates most of his books and I have to say, he is made for narrating books. Audiobooks also come really cheap. Audible is the largest and most advanced audiobook service in the world, offering exclusive titles, audio shows, and book series. If you get an Audible subscription, you get one free audiobook every month. Libby is another app used for listening to audiobooks or reading eBooks by borrowing them from your local library. Audiobooks help you read more because you can listen to them even while doing your daily chores or before going to sleep.
4. Enter giveaways
People host giveaway on multiple platforms such as YouTube and Instagram. They may do it because they need to free up their shelves or have reached a certain milestone. Either way, most giveaways are free to enter and you can win some pretty great books to read. You can start following booktubers or bookstagram accounts to be in the know of recent giveaways and enter them.
5. Join a book club
Book clubs can be really fun if you find the right one for you. Through book clubs, you get to meet several people who enjoy reading books just like you. You get to participate in bookish discussions and also get new book recommendations. Book clubs often have their members swap books and several online book clubs have monthly buddy reads as well which can be really enjoyable. Based on our current situation, several book clubs have switched to an online platform for the time being. Since we're all stuck in our homes due to the pandemic, online book clubs can be an interesting thing to get into.
6. Buy second-hand books
Thrift stores, second-hand bookstores, and book fairs are the places where you can buy second-hand books at an extremely cheap price. I absolutely love book fairs, they are my favorite. I have managed to buy some absolutely beautiful books at a very low price.
Book fairs often sell very pretty hardcovers and even signed copies at a low price too. If you have never bought used books before then I assure you that, in my experience 90% of the time, second-hand books have been just as good as new books. They sometimes feel even better according to me, knowing the book I'm reading belonged to someone else before. It's something about that old books smell that I find so enjoyable.
7. Invest in subscription boxes
Subscription boxes have their own pros and cons which I will explain to you in detail. There are several kinds of subscription boxes such as beauty, food, entertainment, and many more. But since this article is about books, I will focus on book boxes.
Subscription boxes don't only include new books each month. In fact, most of them also give you bookish goodies such as pins, candles, stationery, showpiece, etc. The items are handpicked for your taste and preferences and it can give a really exciting feeling to wait for your monthly boxes to arrive.
You can get great discount offers and early access to upcoming titles as well. Book of the Month is a really popular subscription box among readers currently. Even so, subscription boxes can be expensive and you may feel that you don't really need the items. Also, it can be really hard to cancel your subscription and several of them don't have a flexible return policy either.
Below are some tips to help you decide on a subscription box:
- Make sure it fits your budget and that you really want the items that come with it.
- Go through several subscription boxes to choose the best one for you.
- Compare the prices to know if you are getting a good offer.
- Read the return/refund policy thoroughly.
- Check out reviews of people who have used that particular subscription box.
These are my tips which can help you to reduce the money you spend on books. I personally feel that borrowing books from a library is the best way to read books if you don't write in your books or want to have a large collection. I want you to remember that reading books is one of the best hobbies and you shouldn't let your budget limit you from reading more books.
