9 Thrifty Ways To Get Free Books

I know it’s a giant stress relief for bookworms to go into a Barnes & Noble or a local bookstore and browse after a tough day, but it’s stressful when you realize how much money you’re spending on books! If you can read faster than you can keep your bookshelf stocked, here are 9 clever ways to get your hands on free books so that you have more money for the other essential things in life, like coffee.

 

1. Visit your town’s used book store

Used book stores are great because they usually offer cash or trade for your old books, which means you can shop to your hearts content. If the used book store in your town looks more like a store front than an actual legitimate business and you’ve never felt comfortable going in there, don’t worry, there are also online used book stores like Powell’s Books, Better World Books, Thrift Books, and more.

2. Get to the library

There’s something special about owning a book that you really enjoyed, but if you’re an avid reader, chances are you read books you don’t much care for. Instead of buying every single book with a cool cover or dust jacket, check them out at the library first, and then if the contents blow you away, treat yourself to a copy of your own. Plus, you can try downloading the app OverDrive to get access to your library’s digital collection, so if you’re more of an ebook reader (or you just don’t want to leave the house) you can rent books from the safety of your big comfy reading chair.

3. Free and discounted audiobooks

Maybe you prefer listening to an audiobook, well, there’s a way to find those at discount prices or even for free, too. Check out Scribl and Librivox, which offer free audiobooks in the public domain, as well as independent titles.

Scribl

Source: Scribl

4. Free and discounted ebooks

Barnes & Noble and Amazon offer a wide variety of discounted books for the Nook and Kindle, and sometimes you can even find free books. Plus, with deals that often update, there’s always something new!

Kindle

Source: Engadget

5. NetGalley

For readers who blog, or write book reviews or recommendations, NetGalley is your source for free digital galleys, or advance copies.

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Source: NetGalley

6. Project Gutenberg

This website offers a wide variety of free works in the public domain that you can download as ebooks. This is a great place for students, or readers who just can’t stop. At Project Gutenberg, you could be immersed in dense classical text forever.

7. BookMooch

BookMooch is an online book trade service. You list the books that you have to trade, mail them out to accumulate points, and then use your points to get new books delivered to your door!

BM

Source: BookMooch

8. PaperBack Swap

This is another way to receive a service like BookMooch. List what books you want to trade, and see what books you want in return. However, PaperBack Swap uses credits, so you might want to do some research into how much money you’ll spend on credits before you decide if this service is right for you.

9. Little Free Library

Have you ever seen those adorable cabinets filled with books in a park or at the bus stop? Well, those are like IRL PaperBack Swap or BookMooch. The idea is to take a book and replace it as an effort to increase people’s access to books all over the nation. This is a great way to get a free book and also give back to your community at the same time!

It’s always a great thing to support an author by purchasing a physical copy of their book, but if you read just about anything and everything, then that’s going to get expensive. Hopefully, you can try these ways to get free books, and find a method that works for you!

YouTube Channel: toptensmart

 

Featured image via Pixabay 

h/t Bustle