For those who love books, it can become expensive visiting your local bookstore. This is especially taxing if you love books and you happen to be on a budget. However, there is a way to stretch your book budget's dollars that will reap heaps of rewards.
Book Sales
Visit your local library and you can find used paperback books as low as 10 cents. These sales are usually operated by the friends of the library who take in book donations and resell them to offset the library's expenses. It may be your city or county library. Some of these book sales even have special promotions. My local county library hosts a half-priced sale on a special day once per month. Check with your local library to get a copy their book sale schedule.
Book Clubs
Membership certainly has its privileges. Book clubs tend to offer their members the book of the month or the week at deep discount due to the volume of books being ordered by the group. Usually, the discount is limited to members and only applies to the book being read by the group. Check out sites that list local book clubs in your area. Even if you are not a member, you may want to contact the book club and see if they offer past titles at a discount. It doesn't hurt to try.
Book-Sharing Sites
These specialized sites offer insights into what exists on the shelves of other book lovers. However, they also afford book lovers the opportunity to contact and connect with other readers who may be willing to exchange books, or pass them along to other readers. Peruse the online bookshelves of other members and see if you can find a copy of a book that you have been dying to read.
Used Book Stores
Your local bookstore may be just the place to search for used book titles. Usually, these bookstores offer readers the luxury of two primary choices for obtaining books. You can either trade in your own books or purchase books outright. In turn, they resell used books to other readers. If you are anything like me and you find it hard to let go of a good book, then you may want to just settle for purchasing used books at a deep discount.
Thrift Stores
Thrift stores somehow border between used bookstores and the friends of the library book sales. They tend to have donated books at discounted prices. Your local Goodwill or Salvation Army may offer some intriguing titles once you get beyond the racks of polyester leisure suits and bell bottom jeans. I ventured to a downtown thrift store in Knoxville while out of town and discovered a copy of a book that I had searched high and wide for in my local bookstores. The best part of the discovery was that I was able to buy an out-of-print hardcover copy of the book in good condition for only $1. There are deals on the shelves in such places.
Online Book Deals
You may be savvy enough to navigate the multiple sites online that offer book deals, too. I am pretty partial to Amazon due to its reliability, but there are numerous other sites that have worthy deals and discounts, too. Searching on the web may take some navigation, but I find that Google has a pretty good search engine that can hone down your search through its READS application. Once you find the title, click through the various sites to see what type of pricing and shipping are involved with your purchase. Be mindful that you may be able to find the same title at a discount if you search deep enough.
The bottom line is that your budget does not have to limit your book purchasing experience. With a budget, you can still find books that captivate you and allow you to explore a variety of genres and authors. In fact, if you are not careful, you may give up purchasing books at full price altogether.
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