10 Ways to Bulk your Bookshelf without Breaking the Bank

I have really come to appreciate the term "book dragon" over the old bookworm label.

It's much more fitting; we are always trying to add books to our already large hoard. We are very, very protective over our books, making sure they are stored safely, and if we trust another human enough to let them borrow one of our books, we give them a list of rules in book care and spend the entire time they have the book imaging all the things that could damage it.

One problem that many of us book dragons have is a lack of funds. We do not have a pile of treasure to get all the books our hearts desire. We are actually broke and spend all of our time adding books onto our Amazon wishlists and Goodreads Want to Read shelves.

I have found a couple ways to to curb my book-buying appetite while still always having new things to read, and I wanted to share!

1. Renting Books from the Library

This tip is an obvious one, but so many people just don't utilize their public libraries! They're free, the librarians are super helpful. Even if the library doesn't have the book you want, they'll borrow it from another library for free so that you can rent it like normal. Bless them.

This is the easiest, cheapest way to have new material in your hands constantly FOR FREE. I have a bad habit of buying books I haven't read yet and therefore do not know if I like or want to add it to my personal collection, and being able to read the whole book at zero cost to me has saved me from buying a new book only to find out that I'm not really a fan. Spend money on books you actually like!

Also, libraries have super cheap sales on their books throughout the year to make room for new books, so you'll have the scoop on when they are having a sale.

2. Libby App- Borrow E-books AND Audiobooks!

I know, I know, you're thinking we just talked about renting books from the library! But so many people don't know that you can rent E-books and audiobooks from the library, too! All you need is that magical FREE library card. You can use your library's site to search for digital rentals, or you can use the app Libby, which is a million times more user-friendly for renting all forms of books (physical, e-books and audiobooks) and placing them on hold. You can get them sent to whatever you want- e-reader, computer, phone, tablet, whatever, and anything digital that you have on hold can be automatically sent to your preferred device as soon as it's available.

These are my favorite. You can keep the digital copy just as long as you can keep a physical rented book, but you never have to move to pick it up or drop it off. Let me say that again: I can lay in bed, have 12 books sent to my kindle, read them whenever, and then 2-3 weeks later the copies are sent back. No late fees or drop boxes ever. You can also do this anywhere you have internet. I was on vacation out of the U.S. and I rented books to my Kindle from my library in Virginia and read them throughout my trip, and didn't have to worry about lugging books anywhere or returning books when I got home. It's wonderful and free, and you should use it.

3. Library Extension

"Oh my god, does this woman work for the library?"- I would if i could! I promise this is the last library-related tip! I can't help that it's a magical place!

The Library Extension is a free chrome extension that I have linked to my local library that simply gives me a little pop up when it sees that I'm checking out my online shopping cart from any website. If it sees that there is a book in my cart, it searches my linked library and lets me know that I can borrow it from my library instead of buying it. It's a nice reminder before I drop cash on a book I haven't read yet that my library already has it if I want to borrow before buying.

THE LIBRARY IS AMAZING!

Get the free extension here: https://www.libraryextension.com/

4. Classics are Free Online

Yeah, free to anyone to own. Books that were published before 1923 are part of the public domain, so you can get classics like Edgar Allen Poe's complete works, Grimm's Fairytales, Scarlet Letter and The War of the Worlds all for free as digital copies. Literally hundreds of thousands of free classic books. You're welcome.

5. Bookbub

Bookbub is the sole reason I've built up my Kindle library on the cheap. Once a day, you'll get an email where they share free or cheap digital book deals on Amazon. You can download them directly to your Kindle, which is what I do, or you can choose another digital format, or simply get an Android or Apple version. It takes the hard work out of finding the deals for that day, and it's specific to the genres that you select on your profile.

If you don't click it that day, the deal might change. The deals are great though, the most I've ever seen a book listed for is $2.99.

Here's the link: https://www.bookbub.com/welcome

6. Free Amazon Kindle Books

I use a Kindle, so this one is specific to Kindle and Amazon, but they have free books every single day. You can type "free books" into the search bar on either, and browse hundreds of pages of digital books at no cost to you! This is basically the manual version of using Bookbub, where you search for the deals and titles yourself.

7. Goodreads

Ahh good ol' Goodreads. If you aren't already on it, it's a great way to catalog books and get book news, but it's also a great way to score free books through giveaways. You can either go through the giveaways page, and there are literally thousands of pages worth of giveaways to enter in, or you can put books you would like to read in the future on your Want to Read shelf, and Goodreads will send you an email if a book on that shelf has a giveaway so you can enter. I won about 10 books from Goodreads last year just by taking a minute to enter in a giveaway. They have everything; fiction, nonfiction, coloring books, cook books, journals, and on and on.

Most of the books are hardcover, although some are paperback. Some are also early copies that the author is sending out in the hopes of getting reviews and creating excitement, so some are not completely perfect yet, but it's cool getting an early copy, especially if it's free. These copies often come with a hand written letter from the author inside :)

Goodreads also has great deals on e-books that change daily, so you can get a really popular book in a digital copy for just a few bucks.

Here's the link: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway

7. Bookriot

This is another book news site that I subscribe to, and I also receive giveaway contests from them as well. The giveaways from Bookriot are pretty cool because it's often not just a book, it's a book plus a gift card, or a funny mug, or an entire themed box. They even have giveaways for just credit to buy a certain amount of whatever books you want from their store!

Keep an eye out for deals on their merch too, they have deals on funny socks, bags, shirts, and mugs alllllll the time, and you'll see those deals in the emails, too.

Here's the link: https://bookriot.com/

8. Bookstr

Bookstr is another book news site that has great giveaways- just subscribe to hear the latest or visit the giveaways page for free books.

Here's the link: https://www.bookstr.com/giveaways

9. Bookstagram Giveaways

Bookstagram is a wonderful, amazing place. Watching book bloggers was not enough for me, and that's where this blog came from. One of the many great things about the Bookstagram world is that there are always giveaways! I stumbled upon this by just following bookish Instagram accounts, and often when Bookstagrammers reach a certain number of followers they will host a giveaway for a specific book or bookish item, like a pretty bookmark or a Funko doll, or they will set a cash amount or a book amount and tell you to pick out any books you want or anything from a certain bookish website. All they ask in return is to like the giveaway post, follow them and sometimes to repost the original giveaway post which you can take down after the contest is over. It's an easy way to interact with other users and have posting material if you are a blogger, and you might get a gift out of it. What a community.

10. Thriftbooks

Thriftbooks is an amazing online source that I've used many, many times. You can sell or buy books from them, so when you buy, you can choose from more expensive newer copies, or cheaper gently- used copies. They also have different editions of books- hardback, paperback, library editions, mass market paper backs, so if you are choosy about a certain cover style to complete your collection, it's a great way to get the exact copy you want. Oh, and the best part? Many of the books are under $4, and anytime, 365 days a year, a $10 order qualifies for free shipping!

Here's the link: https://www.thriftbooks.com/

If you have any other tips or resources for reading without going bankrupt, please share them with me!

#tips #budget #booksonabudget #techy