Smart Bitches Trashy Books | All of the romance, none of the bullshit.

Another suggestion - look at your credit card.  I have a Borders Visa card, and I earn points towards Borders gift certificates.  It’s the only credit card I use - so every time I buy gas or groceries, I’m earning money to spend on my book addiction.

Amazon also has a credit card where, you guessed it, you can earn points to be used on Amazon purchases.

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Another option is recycling books—you can sell books on Amazon.com and get store credit. You can also sell your books/cds/whatever to Half-Price Books (if you’re lucky enough to live near one) and you can get store credit that way, too. I know; this means giving up books, but I’m sure we’ve all got at least ONE book somewhere we can stand to part with. (For me, it’s mostly duplicates. But still.)

I do what every graduate student does with just about every expense: mooch off my family! =D My mom is a big romance fan too, and while she generally leans more towards the inspirational and cheesy, our tastes coincide in enough places that I can always yoink a few out of her library when I’m at home.

Also, yard sales are a MUST for any broke romance reader. One in three yardsales will likely have some romance novels going cheap, and you never know what you’re going to find. Sure, a lot of them may be awful, but at a quarter or a dime apiece, you can afford the risk. Same for the library’s used book sale. Go on the last day, get ‘em by the bagful!

I exchange books with a friend in NY. Today it cost me $2.50 to mail her 4 paperbacks that I did not want to keep in an envelope. She’ll send me hers when she’s done. We write funny stuff on stickies on each cover as warnings/critiques. We share similar taste and e-mail when we’ve been book shopping to stop the other from duplicate buying. I also go to my local library at least once every 2 weeks. I’ve been making a super-serious effort to cut down on book-buying and it seems to be working.

There’s a lot of stuff online, for free. Try Bartleby.com, for starters, and Daniel Pinkwater has one of his manic YA comic oddities serialized online for free at: http://www.theyggyssey.com/

Yay Books!

Yay FREE BOOKS!

If push comes to shove, my office has a book exchange thing going. Most of the stuff is pretty dry (lots of non-fiction, which I typically don’t bother reading) but someone, not me, has a serious Jaid Black addiction. Which, for some obscure reason, amuses me.

Another option for limited budgets is places like Project Gutenberg.  The books may be old, but you can’t beat the price, when it’s free.  http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

I use the library a lot!!  I have a much loved independent UBS that I love also.

Oh, and Paperbackswap.com. LURVE that place!

I always sign up for any contest that gives away free books. And I use my sister-in-law’s B&N;discount every time I go in. Plus, they usually screw up the coupons and end up giving me a little bit better discount than expected. Oftentimes I get an extra 5-10% off because they combine the coupon and book club membership incorrectly. I do have an addiction and spend about $75-100/month for books (even after discounts). I haven’t cut back yet but may have to soon if prices keep rising.

I’m a big fan of passing on books I’ve read. Sure, I have a keeper shelf. But I pass on a ton of books too. Also, many, many consignment shops, the Salvation Army, Goodwill have books for next to nothing. I’ve found some real gems there.

And then, there’s when Sarah gives away books.

I’ve had good luck with thrift stores such as the Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc., especially if it’s a wealthier community that has readers of new releases who donate their castoffs. Or you’ll find people who got sick of looking at their backlist of a particular author and just donated them all. In short, you’ll find some great deals, and some stores only charge a quarter for paperbacks. Sweet!

Clearly, I’d prefer readers to buy new whenever possible—because then I get money from royalties and I can spend it on lovely books.  What goes around comes around, see: boosting the economy, one book at a time.  But yeah, sometimes—just sometimes—other things take precedence on the budget.  Boring stuff like food.  Cheap books are, regrettably, necessary.

You forgot option #4 for when fuel is expensive (and oh my golly gosh, isn’t it!). Let someone else do the driving.  Save the money you’d spend on driving to your local bookstore and order your books online: someone will deliver them to you!

I don’t think I’ve bought a single book from Amazon at retail price—whereas most of the brick-and-mortar shops I go to (some chains, some indies) pretty much just sell for the cover price, especially on paperbacks.  Also, you can shop around on Kelkoo or whatever and see who has offers on.

Plus, Amazon has its affiliates program for earning credit to spend there.

Oh, and since we were talking about His Stigness the other day, I thought I’d share JC’s intro for the first ep. of the new series.  “Some say that after making love, he bites the head off his partner, and that he’s had to give up binge-drinking now it’s £1.18 a litre.  All we know is, he’s called The Stig.”

Denise, I’m right there with you. I have two sins: shoes and books, with books wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy outbuying shoes. I probably spend more than $200/month on books; how much more I do not want to contemplate. Along with the other suggestions (reward memberships, yard sales, library, paperbookswap), Thrift stores likes St. Vincent De Paul and Salvation Army have been a bibliowetdream for me. Not in PA though; MN and MT specifically. But boy-howdy, did I score.

I do have a goal to cut down on book buying (sorry authors-oh how I love to support thee..), and so am going to attempt the bookswap online deal. I have a slew of copies and books I didn’t like that I would like to get rid of.

My hairdresser’s shop has a book exchange in a plastic bin by the door.  Take a book, leave a book.

Most libraries can exchange books with other libraries in the county. So if you live near a small library, you can still get lots of books using the interlibrary loan system.

I second paperbackswap.com!

I haven’t yet made any attempts to curb my book-spending habits. In fact, I just bought a whole stack from B&N;this weekend. Shame!

The library is my friend!  Both to rent and for their used sale.  It’s not just finances, it’s also shelf space.  I need more walls! 

I just cleaned out a whack of books and donated them to a) goodwill and b) to soldiers.  God knows LK Hamilton lost me a while back, maybe someone needs a little purple prose overseas.  Let someone else experience the fun of throwing whichever book loses it for them against the wall.

And it’s not romance, but Shadow Unit is completely free (donate to the authors if you like it and can afford to, well worth it IMO) and extremely well-written suspense/ police procedural/ sci fi narrative.  Totally free, and they update a lot.

And my mom and sister and I all lend books back and forth.

I’m not sure how I screwed up that link, but Shadow Unit is at:

http://www.shadowunit.org

My way to save money on my books: my job! Okay, not a viable option for everyone to run out and get a job at an international book wholesaler, but damn, the discounts are good! 40% off any book or book on CD (besides college texty stuff) and 20% off any entertainment product (CD or DVD). On my last paycheck of the year, my total employee purchases was higher than the amount I pay for a year of dental insurance. Extra bonus: They give us $25-30 at Christmas time for product.

For OOP I hit up both Amazon.com used (well, I used to before the whole DAM/Reba Belle thing) or paperbackswap.com.

Libraries (both the university library and the piddly local one), the awesome used bookstore in town, and trading with friends: this is how I *try* to get books.

What do I usually wind up doing? Buying them new and skipping some other luxury I might want. Like going to the movies or out to dinner. I’m greedy and like to own my books.

For one thing, my local public library is not great. I once described it to someone by saying, “They have about 5 books, and I’ve read them all.” Furthermore, they’re slow. I got so sick of waiting for The Unsung Hero that I bought it off of Amazon.

Thrift stores are great. Books are cheap as chips—actually, a lot cheaper.

Also keep an eye on library sales—they usually cough up all sorts of interesting things (snagged me a copy of the rather good Field Guide to Produce for $3 (it was a “premium” book so they charged a little more) and the money’s going to a good cause.

So nice to see someone EXPLAIN the Zebra Deb program. I’ve actually seen reviews of my books that start out “With a price like this I figured the book couldn’t be any good, but OMG it is!” or “I can’t understand why the publisher wouldn’t stand behind this book and market it at the regular price.” Lots of readers don’t seem to *know* that it’s a special program.

I’m both a book junkie and an independent bookstore junkie, so I still buy my books at the same little store I always have (I just drive a lot less!).

Also, regarding libraries: check to see if they can get books from other branches for you, or what if any fees are levied on interlibrary loans. It’s certainly not instant gratification, but I’ve usually had requests filled within a couple of days.

someone, not me, has a serious Jaid Black addiction

I don’t know that I’d want to know this much about most of my coworkers.

Now that I’m not working as a consultant (SAHM—WAY less money but the company is better), I’ve been using the public library a lot.  The Chicago public library system just got on the technological bandwagon and you may now reserve and renew books online.  It’s such a large library system that there are lots of possibilities.  And they will deliver the books (surprisingly quickly) to your local branch.  My new challenge is keeping my hold list stocked so I keep getting books delivered.  You can also download ebooks really easily.

That said?  I still buy a lot of paper books.  As habits go, it’s better than crack.

I love BookMooch.com—it’s a good place to trade for out-of-print category romances.

I save considerable money on gas by not having a car.  But that is feasible because I live in the city.  Books are probably my highest monthly expense after rent and food, and sometimes more than food, depending on how good I’ve been about cooking for myself.

Friends with the same taste in books are a great thing. They can give you their tall-Highlander-books and you can give them your Viking-chieftain books, and it’s a win-win. Plus you can discuss them after you’ve read them. Funny enough, I found out that university libraries hoard all kinds of books, romance being one of them (ours does).

I’m using my library much more than I used to. We have the online reserve/renewal option and in fact that’s how I got to read Phyllida and the Brotherhood of Philander. I checked a few weeks ago and they already had it on order, so hey, presto!

What I hate about the library are trying to read series books. I get sort of anal about reading books in order and of course you never get them that way at the library unless you have infinite patience, which I do not. So I still spend too much money at B&N;.

But for me, the B&N;member discount is so worth it. I save far, far more than $25 a year. I get coupons all the freaking time and somehow they’ve managed to get me signed up on two different email accounts, so I get TWO coupons every time they send one out, and they both work!

Further, you can use your discount to buy a slice of Cheesecake factory double godiva chocolate cheesecake. What more can I say.

dude, my library has an exchange program.  they had so many at one point the librarian was telling me to ‘take as many as you can carry!’  it was fantastic—new, returnable books and possible, ever-rotating possible keepers?  HOT DAMN.

and then i moved to dc, went to school, am poor, and am subject to the dc library system, which while good, does not have paperback swap on location.  nooooooooooooo.

please, the free pretties, i can has them?

I’m part of the Border’s Rewards, and I love it - coupons every week, plus you get “Border’s Bucks” every so often, depending on how much you spend in the previous months. It’s usually enough to buy a paperback. Also, Borders is the only place around here that I can consistantly find Bitch magazine, and it has a pretty good selection of knitting mags :).

Put me in the thrift store group.  I love it when someone turns in their whole series (like the Bridgertons), because I, too, will give up a whole series and regret it, then buy it all back.  As I get older, I know I have read books and enjoyed them, but I can’t remember them anymore so, hey, it is new to me, AGAIN.

Also, my husband teaches at both a public university and a private university so I have access to every book in every library in every public or private college/university in the state as well as every public county library.
Of course, the downside is he cringes mightily at having his name associated with some of the titles he has to bring home.  Oh, well, marriage is a compromise!!

My book club exchanges books.  A couple of times a year, each person brings a bag of books to the meeting.  We go through each others books.  It’s fun because we are talking about our favorite subjects and we discover new authors or series.

If you live in or near the Baltimore area, there are tons of used book stores, but the very best is The Book Thing of Baltimore. Why? Well because all the books are free of course. They will also let you take as many books as you want. We discovered it when we moved and were looking for a place to drop off all the books we didn’t want. They won’t pay you for your books, but they love donations and you never know what you’ll find when you go in.

My bibliophilic friends don’t have quite the selection as the library, but they don’t charge late fees.

The library is my friend, especially when I’m unfamiliar with an author and want to sample her work before spending money. I can go on-line and have a book delivered to my local branch and get an email when it is ready.

Getting books in the mail is always a good thing and I do belong to the Border’s club. I get coupons every week - way more than I actually use. Heck - I currently have a $100 gift card for B&N;but it’s twice as far as the closest Border’s so I haven’t used it.

My hubby’s secretary also sends along her used books - she reads everything. I pass most of them along to the ladies at the American Legion and the VA hospital.

Cat - I really try to buy books from writers that I know I enjoy, even if I pass the books along later to those on fixed incomes and the hospital. Ya’ll’s paycheck depends on *us* buying your books.  Oh - and I always grin when I notice that the library orders more books for a new release title because the demand is greater than anticipated.

I’m lucky - so far. Gas is below the national average here but still not cheap. Does it say how old I am when I say I can remember when gas was 25 CENTS a gallon?

A girlfriend and I go shopping together. Armed with coupons, discount cards, etc. we decide what we both want to read. We spend half, we have fun discussing (sometimes arguing) about what looks good, and usually end the afternoon with tea and something chocolate. Books, therapy, chocolate—a bargain!

Also organized a charity booksale at work. Everybody brings in their books for sale. We sell them at 50 cents paperback, dollar hardback. Money goes to charity and everybody loves hunting through the books!

I use a combination of many of these methods.  I’m a Borders Rewards member, and I drive past Borders regularly in my regular routine of job and kids.  Almost every time I use a coupon they give me another one, so I never buy more than one book at a time—just come back in a few days for the other one, with the new coupon.

I use our library a lot, and I’ve gotten more patient about waiting for the next book in a series.  It’s actually good for me, because it makes a good series last longer!  I love our online reservation system, and the fact that our county library has fast transfer service between its branches.  I also LOVE our Friends of the Library UBS (located right in the library lobby) and their semi-annual book sale.  Great place to find romance novels, and I can take chances on unfamiliar authors because they are dirt cheap.

I also use half.com (part of ebay) to buy back lists and OOP titles of authors I was late in discovering.  My kids and partner keep suggesting that I should then sell the books again when I’m done with them; I haven’t been able to do that yet, but I’m working on it.  Out of shelf space at home, so I’ve got to do something!

The free e-books from publishers lately have made me go “squeee!”  I like to get free stuff….

I’m giving away some free books to today to random commenters over at http://nenscl.blogspot.com.

If you’d like to win a free copy of SHE or EROS ISLAND, leave a comment!

(And I certainly wouldn’t mind winning free books myself! Especially books I didn’t write!)

My library does not charge late fees either. None. Nada. Ever. As in, I lost a book in my van (which you’d understand if you saw the interior of my van) for over a year. I found it. Returned it. No late fee.

Our library is perhaps the ugliest library in the world*, but the services are cool.

*Designed by committee. Who else would pair orange and red striped carpet with grape and lime green polka-dot carpet. ..

A friend is, apparently, the local clearing house for swapping romance novels.  There’s one that has been passed around my entire posse of friends and is known only as “The Shower Scene Book” (I forget what it’s called, the plot is that a Greek demigod has been trapped inside a book for thousands of years and is only allowed out to pleasure women). 

I’m also quite happy to have started a new job next door to the local library.  Hooray for free books, because they really are a necessity of life!

I’m guess I’m lucky. I actually work in a library. So, I get the advantage of combining my work commute with a trip to the stacks for some free books;)

My local library has limited romance, so thats doesn’t really work for me. :(  Got to say that used book stores are AMAZING - I just love finding great new authors that I would never have paid full price for.  And used marketplace on amazon is pretty good, too.

Used book stores, check.
Garage and yard sales, check.
Library, not too often—and their selection of romance sucks. On the other hand, they have a “Friends of the Library” used book store in the basement so… check.

I swap books with a friend—and we try to split the bill when we go together to the store. This is not ideal, as I tend to keep most of the books I read (yes, I know, they’re gonna eat me one day), but what can you do?

I’ve gotten books on authors’ and readers’ blogs giveaways/contests, which rock hard. The only problem? I’ve gotten addicted to new authors :sad:

My local grocery store has a table in the front of the store where you can buy a used book for $1 and the proceeds go towards The Jimmy Fund. I’ve found quite a few wonderful books there (as well as a couple of stinkers, but I can’t complain for $1).

And, if I get really desperate, I just go see my mom. She seems to get books from the strangest places that she only reads once and then tosses onto a shelf to be forgotten about.

I know it’s already been mentioned, but paperbackswap.com is really awesome. It’s this book swap that lets you post books you no longer want and each book that is requested from you earns you a point that can be used to get a book you want. It’s free to join & you only pay 4 mailing a book requested from you. I’ve mailed random books that I didn’t think ANYBODY would want but lo & behold i was able to get rid of Song of the Turtle .

I’m all over the free/cheap book scene in every place I’ve ever lived, and now I will share my excessive knowledge with the world. I apologize in advance for the length of this comment.

Here in England, I live in walking distance of the main library branch, and there is no limit on the number of holds I can place at a time, so library fairies bring my books to my branch with just a few clicks of the button on the library’s interweb page. As soon as I start a series, I’ll request all the books in the series so they are at my fingertips the moment I want them. It also allows me to get books for school, when all the uni library copies are on loan to my classmates. I picked up that trick as an undergrad.

My hometown library system is fantastic about ferrying books to the branch within easy walking distance of my house (again with the walking v. driving element of book acquiring). The only problem is that there is a limit of 5 holds at a time. You can however reserve and check out ebooks online and download straight onto your computer or other compatible device through their website. They also have a free book exchange program and a used bookstore in my branch. I’m notorious at the library for the number of books I have out at a time (my record is over 70 at one time), and with me moving back there in a week, I’ve already got holds placed so books will be waiting the day I get home.

Elsewhere in town, there is a little hole-in-the-wall gem called the Paperback Exchange (or PBX as I like to call it). I can take in the non-keepers I have and they turn into credit toward the books other people have brought in. They have the most complete back catalog of category romances I’ve ever seen in real life.

I also scour thrift stores. Whenever anyone suggests going to one, I’m there for the ride, and can be found scouring the shelves with lots of focus. Oshkosh, WI has some of the best thrift store romance options I’ve encountered. In Spokane, WA, I found a treasure trove of the Sweet Dreams romances I still collect.

Finally, I used to work at a big box bookstore, and as a result got an employee discount, as well as the ability to ‘check out’ books from the store, similar to the way the library does, but with a very strong ‘you break it, you buy it’ policy.

With all this, I still manage to buy books full-price, but I’m able to resist that urge most of the time.

JennyOH, that’s Sherrilyn Kenyon you mentioned. I believe it’s Fantasy Lover, which I believe is the first is her entire series.

I also meant to give SB Sarah props for the Erasmus quote title. Well done.

If I could move into my library I would. And NJ has the lowest gas taxes in the nation.
If it comes down to it, I will ride my bike to the bookstore!

I practically live in used bookstores- there’s one very nearby I visit weekly, one a bit farther away that I vist a few times a month, and one on my boyfriend’s side of town that I visit whenever I get the chance. My local libraries also have REALLY good used book sections thanks to Friends of the Library, I’ve found gems like the first 4 Kim Harrison books in perfect condition for a quarter each, Agnus and the Hitman for $1 and way too many more to count. I don’t really checkout books too much unless it’s a new release I’m dying to read but can’t drop the money on- the last one was Blue-Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas.

I also use Paperbackswap a LOT, though with rising postage costs I may have to start using it a bit less. Still, you can get great books that way- especially if someone is running a deal on their bookshelf.

My security word is learned83- I was born in ‘83 and I totally learn things at my local library! *Cheesy thumbs up*

I gotta say that Philly and surrounding suburbs is pretty stinky for used bookstores. I think the small business tax here is really high and bookstores have low profit margins anyway so….But MN and MT have been great successes for me.

I’ve just recently discovered that fictionwise (the ebook retailer) gives some pretty decent discounts on various romances. Of course their 50% discount on Nora Robert’s The Hollow started the week AFTER I bought it at full price, but what ya gonna do?

I also shop the UBS but mine usually doesn’t have that great a selection of recent releases. But for glomming backlists, it’s wonderful!

To my husband’s regret it seems even the rising prices will not cure my book buying habit.  I justify spending crap loads of money at bookstores by saying I’m helping the economy.  If I keep spending it will eventually turn around!  Lol.  Books are too important to me to cut them out.  I’ll budget around them.  I buy from used bookstores when I’m in the area (I live in a small town in AZ 70 miles from the nearest U.B.S.) but most often I just buy from whatever bookstore has the book I want without having to special order it.  Books are like crack to me.  My husband really doesn’t mind, it helps offset his guilt about buying insanely priced Jeep stuff.

I use the library- I always have 25 books checked out at a time.

I also buy used on Ebay and Amazon.

But there is never enough money to buy all the books I want.

Jill

This past year, with a new baby, buying books has fallen to the bottom of the Need list. I hit up library book sales, and ask for Borders, Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift certs for gifts instead of money (which is usually spent on things we need rather than things I want). Plus it does away with any guilt for spending money on yourself, since it’s a GC.

Chapters up here in Canada do the frequent buyer card.  If you renew before it expires, it is $25/yr.  They also give discounts to teachers and military members.

The hospital has carts on certain floors where paperbacks are 50 cents and hardbacks $1, proceeds to the Ladies Aux.

Our local grocery chain accepts donations of used books and has a sale twice a year with proceeds to the Childrens hospitals.

So, walk to the grocery store and buy a book.

Program88, hmm, programme is spelt wrong.

When I think of all the money I could have saved with a B & N card over the years, I smite my forehead. “It’s never too late!” I always think, each time I hand over my new books to the cashier and she asks if I have the card, and each time I shake my head and say, “Maybe next time.” The $25 (per year?) trips me up each and every time.

Willa, I saved $173 w/ my B&N;card in the last 12 months… ;)

Other than half.com, I also share with my co-worker.  She buys some, I buy some. Then we take them to the public library where they sell them at a year round sale, which is a great place to get more.  $1 for a book or less anyone???

I’m a recent college grad, so for me money is ALWAYS tight. What do I do? Library (luckily I belong to both the city system and the county system here…), used book stores, reading in Border’s when I have a chunk of free time, and borrowing books from my literarily-inclined friends (who borrow from me, so it works out).

The library system here rocks - maybe it has to do with the fact that the city semi-recently combined their system with the local state college’s system?

Oh, how could I have been so dumb to forget: my local library system always has a sale going on: $.50 for paperpacks, $1 for hardbacks. Hard to find a better price than that!

I read sci/fi as well as romance (and countless other genres), so I loves me some Baen Free Library http://www.baen.com/library

I always can scrape together some money for books.  In elementary, middle school and high school it was lunch money, college it was loan money, now its deodorant money. (Just kidding on the deodorant, no really!)

and its a race68 to comment for free books!

*drops name in hat*

Good advice, SB Sarah.

Now if only my local library would reel in all those damn overdue books folks have out that I want to read AND get more options in. But the real bonus is they are literally a minute down la street from my office. Cha-chiiing. You’ve inspired me. I’ll give the place another chance.

Used bookstores, surprisingly enough are harder to come by in my area. I know of only one now and the one I used to haunt like Casper the friendly is no more. Besides, it was all the way at the other end of town. No Cha-ching.

And I love Zebra’s debut program! Yeah, those prices seemed to SCREAM at me, right off the dang shelves, years ago when they first started doing it. Hard not to notice that bit of drool-inducing incentive.

Is it unsporting and horrible of me to say I subscribe to Paperspine?  I love them.  Great service, good TAT, great selection, and it’s SO EASY!  My public LIbrary sucks: too remote to visit regularly and NO selection.  I read much too fast to buy books, and I don’t have room for them all, anyway.

Right now I’m paying about $14/month for the service, and I have enough to read during my busy summer months.  Before I moved, I was paying $25/month and reading much more voraciously, about 6 books/week.

Spamword: sense16…and it DOES make sense for me!

By now I buy nearly all of my fun books at Fictionwise—not only do they have great offers, but I can also pay in US Dollars. And with the current exchange rate, I’m in bookbuyer’s heaven! :-)

For the record, Borders now gives 40% off hardback bestsellers to Borders Rewards members.  It’s a free program to join, and the coupons are aplenty.  Yes I work there, and I plug it, but seriously, the discounts are pretty fantastic for no overhead.

Being from the UK, books, like most other thing, are way more expensive than in the US, so I tend to rely on my local library for free books. Used books stores are great for discovering authors/books new to me, though it’s a shame there aren’t more of them near me - I’d love to be near a shop like the Book Thing in Baltimore, it’d probably become my second home.

As an author, I haunt used bookstores. I buy backlists that I can’t find elsewhere. Sometimes, I’m more willing to pay for a used paperback of someone I don’t know and then go buy their other stuff “hot off the press” etc.

I book share a lot with friends as well.

Lately the only books I’m buying are those in e-format. Rocki St. Claire’s latest will be downloaded tonight. I love her stuff.

Keep an eye on Zebra Debut authors (I’m one!) because I believe their second book is only a dollar more than the first one: $4.99.

Amazon.com also has a 4-for-3 promotion. Look for the green dollar sign and “Special offers available” text just below a book’s price, or go hereto browse through qualifying stuff.

I am at a low ebb with reading lately and I’ve been able to get by on the Baen and Tor free ebooks.  I used to have the flexibility in my schedule to scour UBSs and thrifts, but not right now, alas.  Luckily I also have a TBR…  Well, it’s not a stack and it’s not a pile, it’s more a like an attic, after years of buying more than I had time to read.

I donate my used paperbacks to a local retirement home or my mom’s library instead of swapping them for credit at the UBS.

I live in a small rural community here in Texas and not only is our library very small, but used book stores are almost non-existant.  I do try to use the library for a ‘new to me’ author.  Otherwise I haunt resale shops, flea markets and yard sales.

I find since the price of everything is going up, that I don’t try new authors as much.  I have an amount budgeted for books and sometimes it’s difficult to make it stretch to cover new releases by authors I love. 

Here lately I’ve been purchasing most of my books through Fictionwise.  Or picking them up when I’m at Wal-Mart of the grocery store.

Please add my name to the hat.

I forgot to say that the Amazon.com 4-for-3 program still got me the free shipping when I used it. They count the original prices of the book toward that.

Don’t forget http://www.abebooks.com! An online clearing house for independent used book stores all over the world.

I’m another hard-core library person. In addition to online reserving and ordering from other libraries throughout the state, I can request the library to buy books. I’ve never yet been turned down.

I’m always on the lookout for library sales. The last 3 hours of my library’s annual sale offers $5 for a whole paper grocery bag of books. I try out so many new authors that way. Once, when driving home from an out-of-town meeting, I encountered a library sale that only charged $3 for a bag of books! Oh the joy!

I agree with #1,
I have recently rediscovered the joy of the library. The extra sweetner is there is a branch on my way home from work. I live in a really large sprawled out city and on the outskirts, so gas saving is a must for me. Also I have been turned on to the paperbackswap website. I am pretty new there so I will wait to see how good it is.

Pick Me, Pick Me, Pick Me!!! Please, pretty please!!!! As for feeding my book addiction I use my library, and employee discount for books. I use Amazon for hardbacks-free shipping, no tax, and at least a 34% discount on new books.

I use the library- I always have 25 books checked out at a time.

I crashed my library’s online system because I DARED to try putting a one-hundred-FIRST book in my hold queue.

Silly, silly software developers…  Now if they’d only accept my usability enhancement request to sort the damn list by author name/publication date, and not just book title.  Grr.

I’m another PaperBackSwap lover. You know all those HABO posts? Most of those oldies but goodies(?) can be found at PBS, and if not, you can put them on your wish list and be notified when they are available. I also like the fact that you can turn used books into used CDs and DVDs or vice versa through their sister sites.

Another money saver is Edward R. Hamilton at http://www.edwardrhamilton.com. You have to pay by check through the mail, which feels a little old fashioned nowadays, but I’ve gotten some really good prices on non-fiction, especially cookbooks, from them.

Another big paperbackswap fan here. Especially the book bazaar, where you can get awesome deals.

let me be the gajillionth person to recomend http://www.paperbackswap. I love love love it and get so many really nice, practically new books all for the price of media mail (usually about $2.13 per book)

Books are not a luxury in this house but a necessity.

When we were too poor to buy books I would haunt the UBS, yard sales and church sales for books. Occasionally I would splurge and buy a new paperback at Target, Wal-Mart or the grocery store.

Mostly though I checked them out from the library cause the Tucson Public Library rocked! Now I live in a podunk town in Oklahoma that has one itty bitty library that has nothing unless your taste runs towards inpirational reading (and not even inspy romance but straight mainstream-blecch!). Now I do buy new books and generally order them from the Waldenbooks in the mall. I have them shipped to my house cause the shipping is free. It works because I don’t have as much free time to read thanks to my pursual of a higher education so I don’t buy as many books anyway.

I lurve the thrift store for used books.  They tend to be cheaper than the UBS (another serious addiction), and the books are often much more obscure.  And, oh yes, the snarktastic covers!

But the best place for me is our local nature center.  They sell donated paperbacks for a quarter, and hardcovers for 50 cents.  The sign says, “the ultimate in recycling,” and the hubby and I come out with bags every time.  It’s hard for a book to not be worth 25 cents.

love love love BookMooch.com and PaperBackSwap.com ... they are a “lifesaver” for someone on a limited budget!

I’m a library whore, but then I am a librarian by day ;)  My problem is I don’t have time to read everything I get through interlibrary loan. 

Okay, minor soapbox moment.  If you like your local public library, and if they provide interlibrary loan with other libraries, find out that service is funded.  The delivery costs associated with interlibrary loan are also going up due to gas costs, and I know of a few libraries who are cutting back on this service because they can no longer afford it.  If your library’s feeling the pinch, advocate with whoever the main funding body is, local, maybe state legislators, and encourage them to continue, if not increase, library funding.

When I see one of my high school students with interesting books on their desks, I’ll often lend them an old favorite for a chance to read theirs.  Not only do I get a chance to read a new and potentially interesting book, but I also get to “enlighten” that student with some seriously excellent books.  Recently, I turned two of my romance-reading seniors into fans of PC Cast and Lynn Kurland.

I haven’t read all of the comments yet and I don’t know if anyone’s mentioned them yet, but I love me some library book sales.  I used to live in Peoria, and the library there would have a book sale at least once a year, plus book sale rooms/racks in the various branches.  Also,  Bradley University’s library would have a book sale once a year, and a local museum had a book court…glee.  Generally the prices were really cheap.

When I was first reading fantasy and sci-fi, I borrowed a lot of books from a friend who had a *huge* library.

baen free books… and bookmooch.com.

I’m afraid the rising prices of gas and everything else has not made a dent in how much I spend on books. I’ll just eat one less meal a day or something before I cut back! It’s not like I made a ton of money as a library tech, but it makes a difference that I have nobody else to worry about except an old grumpy cat. I have been making less trips to the big bookstores since they are an hour out of town for me, but then I just buy more books when I am at one of them thinking “Better stock up! I can’t get over here as much now.” I have been buying more of my paperbacks at Walmart lately despite the fact that I hate going in there-it’s the only thing my town has so of course when you go everyone and their brother is there.  I wish there was a used bookstore somewhere around here, but there isn’t.

I second you on that, Kelly (fellow librarian here).  Also, here’s an insider tip: libraries frequently get boxes of romance novels from patrons cleaning out their attics/basements/whatever.  If your library’s small and your librarians know your reading habits well enough, you may just be able to get first crack at them before they go in the sale.  I’ve sold hundreds of romances for the library this way.

I forgot to mention two good ways of getting cheap/free books.  Library sales are excellent (and cheap!).  I went to one once on the last day of the sale, and got three flats of romance novels for a dollar each.  I didn’t have time to pick through for good ones, and got sick of reading them eventually, but they provided my roomate and me with six weeks of reading fun.

And, if you are not weirded out by this method, try dumpster diving.  I once went with some cousins to the Half Price Books dumpster, and came out with a couple gems.  I haven’t tried it since, but if they’re just going to throw books away, you might as well “rescue” them.

Aside from the books that I win online, I buy my books. I live in a rural area. The local library has really limited hours. The fantastic Jackson Hole library will lend books to residents of the adjoining county in a different state. I live 20 minutes away in Idaho.  How great is that? But I don’t utilize it enough.  I spend a lot of money on books.  I try to buy the most of my books at the local bookstore so I don’t get much in discounts. But a local bookstore is such a community asset. I also love amazon. When I get to Idaho Falls which is 90 miles away, I cannot resist Barnes and Noble.

I love used bookstores, but there aren’t any great used bookstores locally.

Yeah, I need to rein in my book spending. Last month, I bought two copies of three different novels. Got a little too eager and forgot that I preorder from Amazon.

You want random? I got so ticked off (mild word) a couple of weeks ago when I filled up my small SUV at $75, I said screw (mild word) them. So I’m trading in my BMW for a Toyota Prius that’s a hybrid and gets 45-50 miles mpg. My SUV gets 15 miles to the gallon. I’m not even driving anywhere extra anymore because I don’t want to fill someone else’s pockets. I used to write in bookstore cafes and coffee shops. I’m waiting ‘til I get the Prius though, which is backordered for 3 months…

It’s going to be hard to get used to because I hate feeling like my butt’s dragging on the ground driving a car. I’m used to being up high, first in the minivans with the kids when they were little, and then small SUVs. But it’ll be worth it and is my way of saying a very loud (insert definitely not mild curse word) you to those who are jacking up those prices.

$75 to fill a tank. BS.

As far as buying books (back on topic), I’ll still buy new to support my fellow authors. But I used to buy used books and checked out books from the library when I couldn’t afford new, so I believe in used bookstores and libraries.

BTW—I give away—wow, really?—10 new books a month between my newsletter and chat loop and WS. And 2 a month are from a featured writer for my readers to check out.

Wow, really, 10? I just added that up. Am I insane? ;-)

Just an aside—I’m sitting her with incredibly painful pageproofs (long story), drinking wine with no food in my stomach, and doing everything possible to avoid reading the the pageproofs. Okay. Bye-bye for now.

I think I’m going to get some cheese for my wine and my whine.

I buy books at the grocery store of all places.  They actually have a lot of the new releases mentioned here.  I will usually hit the book section last (it’s by the checkout), and if it looks like I’m going to go over budget, I’ll put back a box of cookies or something, then call the book “groceries.”  Good for my waistline, too!

I have a free NetLibrary account through the university where I am a student. I can check out and download up to 10 books at a time for 21 days.  There is not as much variety as I would like but still…free audiobooks is a hell of a lot better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick!  AND they are all unabridged!  Abridgement is the tool of the devil. 

During the summer I consume more than 10 books every three weeks.  The way it is set up at my school all you really have to do is register at one of the kiosks in the library. That means anyone in the community (even non-students)  can do it and anyone can have more than one acount.  I have two.

I used to go to the library all the time, especially when my ex and I were stationed overseas because the book selection at the BX was limited and expensive.  I find I don’t go nearly as often now, even with higher prices for everything because 1) I’m not quite as broke as I was then; and 2) I want the option of keeping them. 

I often go to Half-Price Books and I spend way more than I’d admit to on Amazon.  I also buy at the local grocery store (Kroger’s—all books are 20-25% off) and at Walmart.

Now if I could just add “I win them” to my list of dollar-saving ways…

I use paperbackswap.com and I have also been trading books through the mail with many of my fellow romance blogging buddies.  It’s like round robin.  One person will ship a series (say the Kresley Cole books) to another and when she finishes them, she passes them along to yet another.  yay for books and virtual friends!

spam foiler: longer58.  No I’m afraid books are not getting any longer, just more expensive.

I have the discount cards with both Borders and Barnes & Noble.  I buy more than enough books to make the $25 worthwhile.  Plus, when I get the 15% coupons, in addition to my (at least) 10% discount, SCORE!  I was able to get the most recent Anita Blake hardcover for around $11, I think.

I can’t tell you how much I miss Half Price Books.  They’re on my must-visit list everytime I go home to Texas. 
As a graduate student who won’t get another stipend check until September and who is trying to pay her rent with a cobbled-together series of odd-jobs and internships, buying books is pretty low on my priority list until the fall.  I do have a Barnes and Noble card—between books that I might need for class, things I read for fun, and presents for family and friends I feel like I get my money’s worth.  I’d get a Border’s card too, but there isn’t one that’s convenient to visit at the moment. 
Since I can’t buy any books until the fall, my salvation right now is my University’s library.  They don’t have much in the way of current romance (or current popular fiction at all), so I’m working my way through classic English murder mysteries instead and am loving every minute of it.

Teachers:  Borders and Barnes and Noble and MOST book sellers will give you a 20% discount.  And they will look away if you happen to slide the latest Loretta Chase in your pile.

Libraries: If yours SUCKS, like mine who refuses to ever buy a book I want, try another count over.  I know many a library is willing to mail you your books.  Granted to get your card you have to be living in the area but that can easily be taken care of with one quick bill sent to a friend in another county.

Used Book Stores:  GODSEND.  My local took about 200 books off my hands (yes… I had too many… what’s your point??!?????!?!?!?!?!) and gave me credit.  I can now walk in and check how much I have left, snag what I want and walk out again, if I return the book they just re-credit me.

Books for Troops: I know we were talking buying but I like touting this like crazy.  Used books, GOOD BOOKS (they get so tired of bodice rippers), fantasy/sci-fi/historical fiction anything to get their minds out of where they are for a moment and on some good escapism.  You can even get a tax write off!  How can you go wrong with that?!?!  You can’t!

I also make a list of the ones I TOTALLY want and wait wait wait for the coupons to come out.

If by the ‘rest of the world,’ you mean Europe, I guess so. But now their gas is even higher!

In some countries it is still cheaper than in the U.S. Mexico, for example, has cheaper gas. Quite a bit cheaper. China is subsidizing the price of gas, so it is super-duper cheapo there.

I never think it is fair to compare apples to oranges. England, France, Italy, etc. are so much smaller in comparison to the U.S. We have HUGE amounts of open space. Building public transportation in most of the U.S. makes no sense, as the number of people wouldn’t justify the expense.

However, in urban areas there is no excuse for not building more public transportation…better bus systems, light rail, subway, what have you. But for about 80% of the United States, this won’t help matters.

Sorry this wasn’t on topic…but I’m tired of the U.S. being portrayed as the bad guys when it comes to oil or gas. We aren’t to blame for what is going on right now. EVERY country relies on oil and gas to run its infrastructure, deliver products, make products.

I have the B&N;member card plus the credit card and the $25 does pay itself off with savings. The credit card racks up points when you use it with purchases outside b&n;and I just received a $25 gift card from my collected points.  Even with just the membership, I save more than $25 a year. I also believe B&N;may have a special member deal for teachers.  Maybe free membership or a more than the standard 10% off- I’m not exactly sure about that as I am not a teacher, but my sister mentioned it 2 me.

I listen to a lot of audiobooks, most of which I get from the library. I also have an Audible membership.
I check the libraries, used bookstores, and half.com.
When those fail, I hie myself to my local independent bookstore, though I can be lured by the Borders/B & N email coupons like the book slut I am!

Our goodwill carries a LOT of books. The first Saturday of the month is half price day, I’m the first one in the door on that day LOL. Paperbacks are regularly .69 cents, hardbacks 2.99 .. half off that is a bargain!
My local used bookstore is McKays. They take books in trade for store credit. I use that a lot.
I rarely buy new books anymore because as you said in your post, gas prices are sucking up every extra dime we have. Don’t get me started on food prices!! OMG!
I don’t go to the library anymore because everything new is always on a waiting list and takes forever to get to me so I quit going.
The only time I buy online is EBAY when I discover a new author I like I’ll find someone that is selling all that authors books in one lot.
I’m dropping 2 ton hints on everyone I know that I want a kindle.  Someone eventually will buy me one just to shut me up LOL.

I have a great local new/used bookstore in my neighborhood. I sell books back and get store credit for both new and used books.

Big fan of paperbackswap.com and bookmooch.com.

Anything I can’t sell at the bookstore or online I donate to the library and/or the local women’s shelter.

ooh! Free books…I’m in!

My local used book store is so awesome about giving credit for books you turn in towards your next purchase that, if I’m not buying amazon.com, I’m buying there, just to give them business.  (It doesn’t help that they offered to carry my books and are damned awesome about it.  Anyone who gives the self-published what little dignity they can salvage is all right in my book!  Really—you never know when they show up as a secondary character—I’m all about the props!) 

And I’m finally learning about smaller publishers and e-books.  Not always practical in my household but definitely cheaper!

(Uhm, my password?  directly69.  All right.  Absolutely.  Anything you say Mr. Computer, sir!)

My local public library is pretty disappointing, and for some reason my university got rid of their entire leisure reading section last semester.  :(  But because I am poor I do the used book store thang.  The local Half-Price Books has an extra 20% off everything sale every couple months, and they send out some pretty good coupons sometimes.  They also have bundles where they wrap up about 8-10 romances, especially category ones, and slap on some delightfully low price on there.  I, of course, saw one of all LaVyrle Spencer shortly after buying like my 12th book of hers.

I work at Borders one night a week to support my book habit.  I get 33% off books, and Borders has a book loan program for their employees- we can check out two books at a time for two weeks as long as we don’t wreck them. 

It’s AWESOME.  I’ve read books I never would have spent money on.

You could try deepdiscount.com. They offer a discount on the cover price of new books, plus free shipping. When used in conjunction with other deals,  it can feed your voracious habit quite well.

The problem is, you have to be willing to give/sell some of the books back to used bookstores, ebay, the library, or whatever, or you’ll lose all your profit to the cost of more bookshelves. That’s the silent culprit, cost-wise. (At my house, we’re almost ready to add on a room , just to accommodate the I-can’t-bear-to-part-with-it books (which, sadly, = all but the duplicates).
p.s. Off topic, but deepdiscount is offering 20% off their already-discounted dvds right now.  This happens twice a year, and it’s addictive. (I just ordered the first seaon of Psych. What can I say? Those guys are funny.)

In order I:

- attend a Book Swap Meetup periodically & get capsule reviews, great coffee, gossip & free books.
- Find authors that post their stories online.  You’d be surprised at the number of really good novella length works you can find for free online.  Especially from new authors, but even from established ones.
- find books at our local coffee shops with bookshelves.  Also where I drop off my extras.

Yeah, I’m all about the free books.

My secret habit is to buy books at garage sales for a quarter and then sell them to my used bookstore for 25% of the list price—it’s a good way to buy books :)  And hooray for contests!

i live in quebec, where the libraries are largely french and i’ve raced through their english romances in a matter of weeks. so my local libraries are not so handy for me.

but there’s a pawn shop near my apartment building that sells ancient harlequins and regencies for $0.25 each. it’s fabulous. (though my boyfriend doesn’t think so, as they’re generally once-reads and they lay around for awhile before i get around to donating them to Value Village).

Library!  Also good if you’re the kind of person who can part with books (I’m usually not) are used book stores with exchange programs.  When I was growing up I lived near a shop that would trade you one of theirs for two of yours—and if you also go with the yard sale (and library selloff sale!) route, you can end up with plenty of books to trade in, too.

Thanks for the heads up on the Kensington thing - I thought it was actually a old book being re-released or something like that.

For books, I tend to go on e-harlequin because I can get them a month a head of time and if I spend $25 shipping is free, since I am 1/2 hour from the nearest town I figure I am saving some money. Otherwise I get from a UBS or BN.

Free books definitely rock!  Other than that I do almost everything that’s been mentioned in the previous comments as books are my addiction as well.  My sources:  B&N;membership (and only one credit card so after a gazillion points receive a reward of B&N;25.00 gift card) plus the store is three minutes away; Walmart; Amazon (particularly the 4/3 sale; USB w/trade-in credit; Salvation Army; Good Will.  It thrills me when I can find any book on my 20+page shopping list for a fraction of new price paperback (sorry lovely authors but I do support you buying full price as well):)  I also exchange books with a good friend.  Books are my passion so if any friend or family member wanst to gift me for birthday or Christmas I make it sooooooo easy for them—gift card at Amazon or B&N;...it’s all I want.  Even though books are really my only indulgence I’ve had to cut back and prioritize new purchases.  But…it’s not all bad…I have comfort in my mountain of TBR’s.

Library! My library can get just about anything through interlibrary loan for $1.50 per book (that covers postage). They’ll also often purchase a book for the library if you ask them to, and they’ll even call you and let you know when it’s available for checkout.

I’m sure many of the existing authors won’t be thrilled to read this, but I get most of my books used - Half Priced Books has been mentioned, then there’s the used books selling on Amazon.com (I still don’t know how someone can sell their books for .01…even sending it media mail, you are not recouping costs or mailing and wrapping it up.), and my most recent favorite: Paperback Swap (online).  I also get books at Goodwill (where I found my first Nora Roberts), booksales/garagesales, and sometimes out of free boxes on the street.

I do patronize my local library, but not frequently enough…then I have to pay fines.

Well, darn.  I was hoping to be the first to mention Audible, but someone beat me to it.  Obviously, Audible is great for the audio-books (yes, I know libraries carry them, but I’ve had way too many scratched cds to trust those). 

I’ll also add my name to the scores of others singing the praises of UBS’s, thrift stores and yard sales.  Ditto for Ebay, half.com and Amazon (used or new) when looking for a specific title. 

I got through my first pregnancy (bed rest - ugh) with Baen’s free online library and Project Gutenburg.  I doubt my husband would have survived if I hadn’t had ready and easy access to hundreds of books at the tip of my fingers.

And a second mention of the thrift store vote:  children’s books - I’ve gotten some absolutely fantastic buys on books for my kids (board books, early readers, coloring books, etc.) at our local thrift store.

For new hardback releases - public library.  Because of SBTB I learned about paperbackswap.com - thanks for HaBO!  I also use half.com; ebay and UBS.  If it is a Must Have Author (LaNora, Julia Quinn, Jayne Ann Krentz) then it’s a discount store like Kmart or Target. I try never, ever to pay the full cover price.

I buy from our local indie, steal my husband’s B&N;card to take advantage of the discounts there, and have just recently gotten sucked into Amazon’s 4-for-3 program. Oddly enough, even though I live across the street from my local library (literally…I could throw a rock and hit it), I don’t tend to check out library books very often, probably because I’m a re-reader and tend to get things I know I’ll want to read more than once.

My library offers a lot of its material in ebook versions to download and read at home without even going to the library so saves on gas too.

Honestly I still can’t stop buying books though.  I tend to buy from Amazon because they have decently cheap prices and free shipping, which I of course make sure I spend $25 for.

You just need to have my mom around. The woman gobbles up like ten books a week, 95% of them romance. She leaves a trail of them, like rose petals, in her wake.

I’m not as poor as I used to be, and don’t stint myself on books because of price (very much, anyway).  My big problem is space.  I can’t keep all my books, and have to ruthlessly purge them WAY more often than I want to.  And my local library is small and has limited selection, and I have NO patience to wait for new releases.

Before last summer, I never had a TBR pile.  I’d buy books and read them.  If it took me all weekend to go through my Thursday bonanza (the day when the stores get new stuff in, where I live), that’s what I did (‘cause I’m single and have no kids or pets, so I can, so there!).  Now, thanks to you bitches and your recommendations, I have a TBR pile, and it has more than a dozen books in it, and I don’t have any more room!

I guess I’ll have to start shopping for an e-reader.  Damn it.

I dont know if anyone has mentioned this yet or not, but Borders offers text message discount coupon codes.  I just signed up last week and received a coupon code for 25% off one item that was good till the end of last week and then received another coupon code yesterday good for this week.  I love it!  I hate printing coupons because I forget to pull them off the printer or leave them on the desk.  Arrgh!  With the text message, all you need to do is show them the message.  Love it!

I’m so jealous of people whose libraries carry more than a token selection of romances.  My branch of the DC public library has so few new ones that it’s definitely not an option for 99% of the books I want to read.  What they do have is fantastic book sales.  It’s surprising how many good romance novels I’ve found at those sales when one considers that hardly anyone I know would dream of admitting she reads romance (except me, of course).  Each branch library has its own Friends of chapter, and each holds its own book sales, so there are several opportunities a year to score books cheap.

Other than that, I try to buy midlist authors new so that they’ll sell enough to keep their contracts.  I’ve got both the B&N;and Borders rewards cards, so that helps a bit.  But I buy a huge proportion of OOP and older books at a wonderful UBS in a nearby suburb.  It specializes in romance and the owner is knowledgable and very friendly, so going there is fun and informative.  And as a DC resident I’ve even taken advantage of the Library of Congress, which does, much to its own surprise, carry romances.

Randi, $173 saved? AWESOME!

I signed up with booksfree.com for a while, and really liked the service—like Netflix, but with books. I think either SB Sarah or Candy touted this website a long time ago?? I’ve been meaning to sign up again and hopefully get some OOP titles I can’t find anywhere else. Nice deal.

Comment!

This isn’t particularly conducive to choosing what you read, but when money’s short or I can’t bring myself to picking out crisp new books, I go down to the local thrift store associated with the school district or a non-profit and buy the books there for less than $1. Yeah, it isn’t great if you want something in particular, but I’ve picked up some awesome stuff, both romance and not!

I’m a booksfree junkie, I have over 150 books on my list right now. I have my certain authors though that are “must buys” and I usually buy from either Walmart or Target where they’re 25% off or do the 4 for 3 thing on Amazon, which works out the same way.

Sorry this wasn’t on topic…but I’m tired of the U.S. being portrayed as the bad guys when it comes to oil or gas. We aren’t to blame for what is going on right now. EVERY country relies on oil and gas to run its infrastructure, deliver products, make products.

I hope you didn’t think I said this because I agree with you.

God, this wine is really getting to my head. No, wherever that money ends up, whoever’s pocket it goes into, I’m not going to be one spending the money anymore to line it. Take my SUV, $75.00 a week for a tank of gas—that’s, um, (can tipsy woman here count?) $300 a month and I only run errands and go to coffee shops and cafes to write. Unless I’m really stressed out over a book and then I go to the Cheesecake factory, sit at their bar and have mojitos…

Ok. Cheyenne has officially had too much wine tonight.

Zipper25. Zip my mouth?

Chey: Smart Bitch Hubby drives a Prius. In the summer it gets marvelous mileage, between 49 and 52 mpg. Winter is harder because the heat runs off the gas engine (I think) and the mpg goes down a bit, but it’s still an awesome car

SB, Sarah, that is so awesome. I live in Arizona, so it’ll be the opposite—A/C blasting 4-5 months a year and the rest of the year barely use the heat. I’m glad to hear you like it. They look so sharp. They’re backordered 3 freaking months here, but I’ll get mine eventually—I’m in line.

I love my local library!  The only bad thing is that they have so many books that they’re having to downsize their collection, so not as many are available to check out.  However, that means I can buy the downsized books for cheap!

I work a block away from our nationally-ranked main library and live about half a mile from a branch library, so it should be easy for me to utilize such a wonderful service. However, I only go there for the book sales. Not because they aren’t wonderful, knowledgeable people (they are). Not because they don’t carry romance (they do).  It’s because I am very good at taking books. I’m also lousy at returning them.  So rather than rack up a boatload of fines, I just buy the books outright, then give away, donate or trade them later… provided I can part with them at all, that is.

I buy books from all over, but try to at least get them at some sort of discounted/sale price, be it through Sam’s or Costco, Wally’s and grocery stores or online.  I am also blessed to have pals on some of the online paperback swap sites who will order for me the OOP ones I can’t find locally.  And I also have a friend who has a monthly book budget that is higher than many people’s rent.  Seriously. She’s the most voracious reader I’ve ever met, in all genres. She goes through books like water through a sieve. I inherit a lot of her cast-offs and duplicates that she’s forgotten she already read, and also use her B&N;discount card.  In addition, she put my name on her account at the UBS, since she has thousands of dollars in UBS credit … I KNOW!!!

… and it’s more than she’ll ever use up on her own.

Diane

My local used bookstores stocks a few new books   -  JD Robb, vampire/paranormal,  Robert Crais and a few others   -  and discount them at 20%  off the cover price.  They also offer a 20% discount off any special order.  You might check to see if your local used/independent bookstore will do the same

Speaking of gas and oil, my mind is boggling.  I heard on the news today that the US government is voting to outlaw the use of oil from tarsands in military and postal service vehicles, because it’s dirty oil—causes environmental destruction to produce.  Which it totally does, and I’m not going to get all defensive about that (having lived my whole life smack dab in the middle of the tarsands, I can go out my back door and dig some out of the riverbanks, and it’s the raison d’etre for my home town).

But seriously, the US is willing to invade Iraq for oil, but is too good to use tarsand oil?  What the hell?

I used the library as much as possible.  Requesting books so I don’t have to drive to the different branches.  Also plan one day to go to UBS and goodwill.  By doing it all in one day I save money on gas.  Books I pay $1.49 at goodwill can be traded to the UBS for $3.50 to 4.00 credit. 

And when all else fails?  Reread favorites.

I love my local library, not only do they have an excellent selection both at the headquarters and at the various branch libraries and if they don’t have it they can usually order anything but new books through interlibrary loan for only $1 per item. They also recently started selling paperbacks for a quarter…don’t know how long it will last but I am taking advantage (this despite my vow not to buy any more books until I made a real dent in my TBR pile which now hovers at about 200 books). Alas I have the self-control of a 4 year old.

Speaking of no self-control, I am also constantly suckered by Amazon’s 4 for 3 deals (the only books stores are miles from my house and I don’t have a car so I also love amazon).

I have found books as low as $1.84 by browsing all the eligible 4 for 3 book deals on Amazon. If you factor in free shipping handling and the fact that I don’t have to pay taxes it was like stealing it but less criminal.

Zebra’s pricing plan is a very good idea…I bought Lord Sin because it was only $3.99 when usually with new authors I try to get the books thru the library or at least booksfree first.

The bookstores here in Cairo are very expensive and don’t have much variety so I tend not to shop in them and I don’t have access to the only library in the neighborhood. So locally I rely on a used bookstore that isn’t too bad. It isn’t huge and the “romance” section is mostly populated by Danielle Steele, Fern Michaels, and Nora Roberts BUT sometimes you can find gems mixed into the “fiction” section - found my first copies of Jennifer Crusie books there.

Otherwise, I have been relying on my ebookwise reader for books. I love it - when I can get it to talk to my desktop, which it has been refusing to do lately and tech support is ignoring me.

This post has given me a serious desire to take a walk down to the used bookstore this morning and see what I can see… especially since it’s the time of year when many people leave Cairo for good and purge books….

I, being a poor lowly student with a reading habit bigger than her bank account, use my University’s fiction Library. It has most of the older title I want, but doesn’t seem to update except with authors that are popular… which makes sense, but isn’t so useful for people who read obscurely. I don’t really use my local library, not enough variety.
If all else fails I can usually convince my mother that she should buy a book for me. Works sometimes.

Also, free books for me?
Even though I’m in Australia?

A lot of my local used book stores don’t really have romance books - they have 3 Danielle Steels and 1 Marian Keyes book, all at least 10 years old. :( Occasionally I get lucky, though.

As for suggestions - if you’re Australian, the exchange rate with the US dollar is quite good now, so you can order books from Amazon or other US online booksellers and have them shipped to you and *still* save money. Crazy!

Don’t forget http://www.abebooks.com!

Which might get expensive, though, especially if your tastes tend to lean towards 19th-century guide books. *ggg*

I just bought a copy of Lord Carew’s Bride at my local Salvation Army thrift store for 50 cents. The SA gets $ for charity, I get a great book for cheap, it all works out!

I love my library and visit often. Only problem is often SBTB will review something that sounds great but I can’t get it. Maybe not for a long time before it shows up on the library database. I still want to read The Spymaster’s Lady but it’s not available yet and I’ll probably have to get it from Amazon. Which I find frustrating because then I have to shell out for more books in order to get the free shipping because it’s obscene to pay £6 on a book and then £4 for them to ship it to me. May as well add to the till and get free shipping. It’s not like I need cheap wine this month.

I wonder how one can get a job as buyer for the public library?

My local library system gives away old books being taken out of circulation for free. People are also allowed to bring in books they no longer want and take whatever they wish off the cart at no charge.

The volunteers in our hospital stock the book shelf in our family room with fairly new free books that are available to anyone who wants them. I hadn’t read Harlequin in decades til I started going in there and pilfering the stash during long night shifts. I put them back when I’m done, but patients and family members are encouraged to take them home if they wish.

I enter contests, and win occasionally *g*. Many authors have give aways on their blogs/websites. My favoritest Shiloh Walker has a monthly giveaway.

Also, I’ve gotten a surprising amount of books by emailing my fangurly squees to my fave authors. I have a whole bookshelf full of autographed books, and my library walls are decorated with original art sent by my fave cover artists. Anne Caine rocks!!

#5- get a part time job at Border’s and get a 33% discount on all books! That’s the reason I work there. Even when I go back full time I will keep working one day a month just to keep my discount.

The Borders Rewards club actually gives members 40% off bestsellers while non members get 30%. And the weekly email always has a coupon of at least 20% off anything. The coupons are tailored to the membership though so sometimes they are 20, 25, 30 or 40% off. Also they show up on the cell phones if you choose to get them- so that is 2 coupons (I hate the one coupon per purchse/per day rule, so I break it). And there is usually one that goes out on Sunday or Monday that is usually a really good one.

I am in Jersey right now, getting ready to go home from vacation and will be filling up my tank before I hit NY. For once I didn’t do any mall shopping while I was here- it didn’t rain! But then I didn’t get to Cape May or Ocean City either which sucks. But I did get to play pool monster with my twin grandsons!

Ooh, I hope I’m not too late!  Fingers crossed!

I have to say, I love getting library books.  I’m in grad school and shelf space is at a premium.  So unless it’s a *very* good book that I know I will reread repeatedly, I’m glad to get them out of the house.

Me and a couple chicas from work pass books around.  Not only do you save $$ but you have something to talk about while working.

Free books!  The best kind, no doubt.  I buy audiobooks from Audible.com.  They don’t have everything, but they’re getting better, and the prices are much better than buying new on tape or CD.  Sometimes, they’re better than buying used, too.  You have to be a member to get the best prices, but the subscription buys you a certain number of book credits per month, so it’s not an additional charge.

Let me be the nth person to tout paperbackswap, bookmooch and booksfree. 

I get free books from my building’s laundry room.  Someone has a SERIOUS Harlequin Blaze habit, and when s/he’s done leaves them on the table down there.  I take them, list them on Paperbackswap and voila! Free books! I also buy books from my local library’s sales for a quarter.  Money to a good cause, and when I’m done reading they either go to the keeper shelf or to paperbackswap to be recycled for new-to-me books.  Postage can add up, but it’s still way less than the cost of buying new.

My son’s nursery school has a take one, leave one box which I have made great use of, but it’s mostly biographies and dry historical non-fiction.  I try to spice it up a little with the things I leave—they don’t stay there long.

I’m so jealous of people whose libraries carry more than a token selection of romances.  My branch of the DC public library has so few new ones that it’s definitely not an option for 99% of the books I want to read.

The Daniel Boone Regional Library in Columbia, MO has a HUGE selection. They used to have them pulled out and just sort of in rotating displays that were impossible to go through. Now they have the Harlequin, etc. in one section to themselves, and all other romance authors are in with the main fiction, which is also very cool. Went there last night. Picked up four Lisa Klepas and a J. R Ward, and am just finishing Gabaldon’s Brotherhood of the Blade which is also quite good). Oh, and though I can’t find Lori G. Armstrong’s books at B&N;, they’re at the library.

As for gas prices. Killing me. Absolutely killing me. I show dogs. I have a Ford Windstar that gets 17 mpg. Just going back and forth to work I’m spending over $75 a week. How much over? I don’t know. I’ve run into the gas pump cutoff valve. It only allows you $75 at a time. that lasts me about 6 days. I’d love a Prius but a) can’t afford one, b) can’t fit two Dobermans and a Min Pin in it, and c) there’s apparently a 15,000 strong waiting list for those suckers right now.

No solution for me at the moment but I haven’t given up hope.

I have an addiction to Paperbackswap.com and Bookmooch.com, where you can trade books for just the price of postage. If I HAVE to have something, I buy it at Borders with my Borders Rewards card, but if I can wait I put it on my wishlist at PBS or bookmooch.

I pretty much do a little bit of everything that has been mentioned.

However, 2 suggestions based upon previous comments :

1- Someone mentioned they had a B & N gift card that they hadn’t used because the store was too far away . . . you can use a/the GC online.  Plus, if/when you spend $25 = free shipping!

B- If you are a member, or no someone who is, of either Costco or Sam’s Club (I belong to both via work, which pays for it) all the books they sell are generally 45% off the cover price.

I work for a non-profit organization and our Librarian has dedicated shelf space to “freebies.” Staff can drop off their already reads and pick up anything on the shelves. You can keep whatever you really like and return anything you don’t just have to have for someone else to read. So far, no one has taken the opportunity to discar old college textbooks or other drek!

Love my library - the branch is less than a mile away, and it’s hooked up with a bunch of other city libraries in the area.  I make my requests online, and the Book Fairies deliver them to my branch free of charge.  I can get on the waiting list early for major-release hardbacks.

Rediscovered the majesty of the Goodwill store last weekend.  Had to go in to get a cheap VCR for my daughter to destroy at science camp this week, and lo, they were having a sale on all romance novels - 10 cents each.  And there it was, a Suzanne Brockmann Harlequin Intrigue in the original cover from 1996.  Squee!

My best strategy not mentioned in the post is sharing with a group of friends.  (This works best with long series.)

Everyone chooses a series to buy, and the new books are traded around.  The books in transit are collateral - if you don’t return books or return them damaged, you aren’t loaned new ones and your ones not in your possession aren’t returned.  This way you can read and discover more series.

A life without books is unacceptable so my penny pinching tips include: Amazon Visa card, library card, paperbackswap.com, half.com and campusi.com

Also, make friends with your librarian! I love the ladies who work in the branch I visit most often and they are so helpful. They will often buy the books I suggest and can help me quickly arrange an interlibrary loan for those books the library will not buy.

It is tough right now, isn’t it? I can’t believe how expensive even the paperbacks have gotten. It all adds up really quickly.
But, when in a tough economy and still hungry for a major book fix, I believe in getting creative.
Here are my latest resources:

1. The library.

2. booksfree.com (I received a gift membership at Christmas, and I’m enjoying it. My biggest complaint is the sometimes long waiting lists with popular books. Not unlike the library in that way.)

3. Reading from my very extensive TBR mountain, which leads me straight to ...

4. The used book stores. I’m pretty lucky to be near a couple with good selections. I trade in the books I’ve read and am sure I’ll never read again for books I want to read.

5. Braking for used book sales at libraries.

6. Looking for sales and savings at the chains.

I do still purchase new books, just not as many as I used to.

Since I work in an elementary library, I probably shouldn’t have to buy juvy lit, but I cannot help it. It’s a serious problem, compounded by the fact that my library clearly does not have Loretta Chase or George R. R. Martin. The Tucson library and Friends of the Library sale are, thankfully, both awesome and we have great used book stores and a ton of thrift stores. Still, I’m considering signing up for one of those netflix-for-books services. My other plan right now is to empty out our change jar, take it to a CoinStar machine, and turn it into an Amazon gift card (I think they charge less of a fee if you get a card instead of cash. I guess I could get a gift card for groceries or something, but. . . why?) and then get Amazon’s 4-for-3. So, basically I’m subsidizing my book habit with the BF’s leave-my-loose-change-lying-all-over-the-house habit.

I, too, make good use of my Borders and B&N;rewards memberships.  The local library is a wash as they take forever go get new books in - and by the time they do I’ve already read them.  Often go to Good Will and have often found some great reads.  What I mostly do, however, when short of cash or gas, is pull out one of the hundreds of “Keepers” I have stashed in boxes all over the house.  Since I don’t keep these old books in any certain order, I’m always pulling out a surprise - a favorite book that I haven’t read for many years.