USING THE LIBRARY
Books. For free. Need I say more?!
Borrowing books from the library shows there is an interest in a given author or title, but also many writers make a small royalty fee from you borrowing their titles.
BOOK SWAPPING
Whether you have a circle of bookish friends, swap with fellow bloggers, or sign up to one of the many book swapping websites out there, trading books with other bookworms is a great way to read new titles without spending a lot of money.
BOOK BUYING LIMIT
If you're still keen on buying books, but are looking to rein in your spending, then setting yourself a book buying limit can be really helpful with keeping costs down. Last year I set myself a book buying limit of just four books a month, and found it to be a really effective method in helping me spend less but also changing my perspective on excessive book buying.
SALE + SECOND HAND BOOKS
Another way in which to spend less on books is to not buy any books at full price. Both high street and independent bookstores often have seasonal deals on, and there is always the option to buy predominantly second hand books - giving unwanted books a new home.
£1 A BOOK
A fellow book blogger - Aoife of Pretty Purple Polka Dots - shared on Twitter her plans to put a £1 in a jar for every completed book of the year. I love this idea! Expanding on it though, you could use the money saved as your book budget for the following year - 50 books read, then £50 to spend on books in the next year. Not only is it a good way to create a book budget, but it gives you more motivation to read, read, read.
Excellent ideas! Sale and secondhand are where I've gotten a good portion of my books. I have to be careful with that one!
ReplyDeleteThanks! It can be easier to buy more when you're getting a better deal - I've been there!
DeleteGreat tips! I rarely pay full price for a book. Almost all of my books are used or from scratch & dent book sales. It’s possible to find cheap books if you don’t mind that they’re ugly.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Thanks! I think books that have some wear and tear are better than brand spanking new ones personally - they are books with stories, y'know.
DeleteGreat ideas! I am trying to cut back on my book buying this year compared to last year. Hopefully that will work out!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Good luck with cutting down on your book buying!
DeleteYou reminded me I wanted to look into finding a good book swapping site online. Most of my books get too marked up to swap but I do have stuff I know I'll never get around to too.
ReplyDeleteI am used to a lot of online bargain hunting for books (a habit from my college days & the scary price of text books). I found bookfinder.com not too long ago and I like to run a book I'm looking for through there just to check to see if there's an awesome deal somewhere.
Good luck with finding a good book swapping site!
DeleteThanks for sharing bookfinder.com - that sounds like a valuable bookish resource.
I finally signed up to my local library a few months ago and was pleased to see they've got almost everything! Great ideas :)
ReplyDeleteI would like to nominate you for the Mystery Blogger Award. If that's not your kind of thing please ignore me.
http://booksinblankets.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/the-mystery-blogger-award.html
It can be hard making the time to go to the library, depending on your life circumstances, but signing up is a great first step! I was also surprised when I looked deeper into the book inventory of my library - many titles I thought they wouldn't carry, they do!
DeleteAh, thank you for the nomination, but I'm an award free blog :-)
The money jar is a good idea, but my go-to way to save on books is to mostly buy second hand books. Paperbacks in English cost a fraction of the price of new ones in my part of the world, and I can always find something I want to read. Not that I need it - my TBR is out of control...
ReplyDeleteHaha - second hand books are definitely a great way to save money on your book collection.
DeleteI love that idea of authors getting a small royalty when their books are checked out of the library. I wonder if we have something similar in the U.S.? If not, we definitely should!
ReplyDeleteLike you, I think it's great also! Ah, I hope they do there too!
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