Reading is a wonderful pastime. It can expand the mind, increase the vocabulary and take readers to places beyond their imagination. But if constantly buying the latest bestseller is starting to become too expensive, never fear – there are many ways to keep reading without blowing the budget.
Join a Library
Libraries are a great place for free books, covering everything from the latest bestsellers to old favorites. Not only that, but many libraries also have magazines, newspapers and DVDs available for loan, meaning that members can save on these costs too. Most local libraries are free to join and many have borrowing affiliations with other organizations, giving library members access to material from all over the country.
Online Books or E-books
Don’t have easy access to a library? Try checking out some of the free e-books available online. E-books are books made available in electronic format. While some e-books can only be read on a special reading device, many can simply be downloaded and read on a computer. Project Guttenberg, for example, has more than 28,000 free books that anyone with access to a computer can read. The collection includes everything from novels to non-fiction, classics to sci-fi, and romances to thrillers. Most of the books have an expired copyright, so the site doesn’t have the latest bestsellers, but it’s still a great source of free reading material. Books are generally available in English, with some appearing in other languages like French, German and Chinese.
Other online libraries worth a look include The Free Library, which has a vast collection of books and articles, and Classic Reader, which covers fiction, non-fiction, poetry and short stories.
Book Crossing
For those looking to inject a bit of adventure into their reading habits, book crossing might be the answer. According to the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, book crossing is “the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise”.
Readers register their book on the Book Crossing website, attach a special identification number to the inside of the book and then leave the book in a public place for someone else to pick up. The new person then does the same. Each new reader is encouraged to record where they found and left the book on the website, so the book’s journey around the country (or even the world) can be tracked. Not only is book crossing fun, but it’s also a great way to recycle.
Readers looking for new material can go hunting for books left by other people by checking out the “hunting” sites registered on the Book Crossing website. With more than 740,000 members worldwide, all releasing multiple books, most “hunters” are sure to find a book hidden nearby.
Swap Books with Friends or Join a Book Club
Sharing books with others is a great way of getting new reading material without spending a lot of money. Instead of all buying the same book, try sharing books with friends who have similar reading tastes. Alternatively, to explore new reading material, swap with someone who has wildly different reading tastes – this is a great way to try new genres or authors.
Organized book clubs are another way to enjoy reading on a budget. Often these have a small membership fee to cover costs, but they provide access to a wide range of books. Book clubs are often run through local libraries, workplaces or community organizations – check out local newspapers or notice-boards for advertisements.
