I read a lot of books and I love filling up my home library with MORE books. I have a list of ways you can read and acquire more books that you actually WANT to read. This is a very detailed, practiced & executed list of things I actually do—consider a paid subscription to my newsletter or my Patreon.
THE LIST!
The Library. Not exactly “free” we pay for our public libraries with our tax money but that should also inspire us to utilize it since we already pay for the resource.
I know people are aware libraries exist but now more than ever our local libraries need our support. It greatly benefits your favorite authors when libraries buy their books to be loaned out. I highly recommend getting the Libby App. You can reserve and/or borrow eBooks and Audiobooks. Every Tuesday, I search for brand new titles and click the “notify me” icon if my library doesn’t already own a copy. Example
Pango Books. I used to have a Pango shop and enjoyed it for a whole summer before I decided that I like to sell my books at Half Price Books instead.
This is a viable option if you don’t have a Half Price Books in your area or want to make more money on sales. It can be a lot of effort. You have to create a listing with photos and info for every book. If it sells, you print a label straight from Pango and ship it to the customer in a reasonable amount of time. Your customers rate their experience based on packaging, condition, communication, and shipping. You can use your Pango money earned in sales to buy more books.
Half Price Books. I have one of these physical stores about 10 minutes away so I weed through my book hoard monthly and gather books I no longer want so I can sell them to Half Price Books.
I don’t make a lot of money but I do make enough to make this option worth my while. The biggest benefit is that the books get to leave my house immediately instead of sitting around waiting to sell on Pango. The money can be cashed out at the register or used as store credit that day or later, you just keep your receipt. Sell books to buy books is always a good thing.
Little Free Library. Take a book. Share a book. You can either set one up in your own yard or visit one near you. There is a map on the website that will show you where registered LFLs are in your area. I get a lot of advanced reading copies that cannot be sold so I need to give them away if I want to clear them out. I donate them to the LFL on the university campus near me and the students there LOVE them. They are always gone the next time I visit. Sometimes there is a book in there I want to read so I take it.
Bookshop.org affiliate shop. I have had an affiliate shop at Bookshop.org for a few years now. It’s amazing! I have my own shop and have curated lists for horror readers to browse. When a reader buys a book, I make a little bit of money for the referral. This website supports indie bookshops. Each affiliate store picks a bookstore they support. When you buy books, that bookstore benefits. You can read more about it HERE
Affiliates can use the money they have earned in sales as store credit to buy books, which is what I do. So far this website has generated $27 Million for indie bookstores.
6. I know Amazon is the enemy but for a reading junkie like me, Kindle Unlimited and Audible are invaluable subscriptions. They also have a “First Reads” program for Prime members that gives readers the opportunity to read brand-new books for free. The Amazon Original series they put out is exclusive to Amazon and frankly, amazing. So people can shit on Amazon all they want but I have adopted a system that works for me. I buy my physical books at physical bookstores and borrow eBooks/Audio as much as I can through the library while also taking advantage of special content unique to Amazon. The sheer volume of books I’m able to read and listen to for FREE with my subscriptions more than pay for themselves. This month, THE LOVER by Silvia Moreno-Garcia was an Amazon First Reads pick and it’s an Amazon original. It’s not widely available until November 1st. I fucking loved it.
Amazon also released the Creature Feature Collection featuring short horror stories by favorite authors, so…I love Amazon for specific things. Judge me. I don’t care, I go where the horror is
So this is my list of ways to read more books for less money. Hope it helps!
As both an author and a library worker with 12 years of experience, let me 100% encourage and support borrowing books from your local library. It DOES help the authors, because libraries *purchase* those books. Furthermore, if your favorite author is not represented, your library will have a page on their site for recommendations to purchase; fill those out. Both things help authors. Thank you!