College Hill

Read More, Spend Less

Written by Guest Blogger | Mar 5, 2019 4:00:00 PM

GUEST BLOGGER: McKenzie Duquaine

SAVING MONEY ON BOOKS: HOW TO KEEP READING WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK

Reading is the ultimate underrated pastime. Weeks, months or even years can pass by and you don’t even realize that you haven’t read a book. Then, when you go to pick out a book, you realize you don’t want to spend more than $10 on something you may only use once. So, here are 5 tips and tricks for saving some money on books!

1. Hit up your local Goodwill!

Goodwills have a whole section in their stores dedicated to books that come from all different types of genres. If you’re not even sure what you want to read, going to a Goodwill and looking through the old gems they have scattered amongst their shelves can be so much fun because you never know what you’re going to find. On top of that, they can be as cheap as $0.99!

2. Start a book circle 

Find a group of friends willing to pitch in their favorite book and rotate each book around the group every few weeks. Even if you only have five friends taking part in this, that is four books you get to read for the price of one (the book you bought to lend around in the circle). You can read a lot of interesting books and find your new favorite! Plus, over time, your circle can grow, and that means more free books!

3. If you have a Kindle/e-reader, you can rent books for discounted prices OR download for free from your local library!

Having a Kindle has allowed me to find so many great deals on books. Oftentimes, Amazon will have sales on e-books you may be interested in, or, with an e-reader, you can read a sample of the book before you decide if it’s worth buying. One of my favorite things to do with my Kindle is to connect with my local library and download books for free! It’s simple: all you have to do is search on the library’s website and see what books they have available.

4. Hit up the library!

If you don’t have an e-reader, head down to your local library! It can be fun walking through giant shelves of books you’ve never read before. Pick one up, read it in a few weeks, bring it back and grab a new one - all for FREE! (Get a library card!)

5. Read and Return at the airport!

The new “Read and Return” program has been implemented in most bookstore airports across the world. It is such a cool opportunity because you can buy the book for the flight, then return it when you land and receive half of your money back! All you have to do is keep the receipt. This will not only save you money, but keep you from suffering from boredom while traveling through the air.

Now that you have some tricks to save money while reading, don’t let a long time pass where you don’t even remember the last book you read (we’ve all been there). Get out there and find something interesting! Expand your knowledge! Yay, reading!

Have a book rec? Let us know: @ch_threads