Friday Faves: Reading on a Budget

Friday Faves is a feature where I share whatever bookish thing I saw or share books I read during the week.

Bookish problem number one is CASH, I think.  Books are GOOD but unfortunately, they do cost a fair amount of money.  Especially if you’re like me who obsessively buys books (physical or digital) regularly.

In the few years since I have been actively blogging, I have found a few ways to NOT spend as much money on books.  Of course, there is the proverbial secondhand bookstore where you can get books at a bargain.  But how often do you find recently released books there?  Plus, if you are like me, I prefer to buy things in the comfort of my own home.

Undoubtedly, there is a certain kind of thrill in the act of browsing books at the bookstore and a certain kind of euphoria when you actually find a good book at a secondhand bookstore.  I know this because I used to shop at a secondhand bookstore.  In fact, that was where I was introduced to historical romance.

Here are a few ways where you can enjoy the newest books without breaking your wallet.

Note:  These are the places that I have personally tried.

 Public Library

Last year, I recently stumbled upon the Overdrive Media Console App and was ecstatic when I found out that I could borrow ebooks AND audiobooks from the local library (in my case, the LA Public Library).  I had been borrowing books since 2005 at the library when I moved here but for the last 3 years, I haven’t borrowed due to the fact that it became such a hassle to pick the books up and return them.

This app is available for free for iOS and Android and using it is pretty simple.  Borrowing and browsing books is also easy.  Unfortunately, the downsides are: 1) the time it takes to wait for the newest, most popular book; and 2) the availability of the book in the library. (yes, some books ARE not available at the library); and 3) your library does not offer ebooks/audiobooks via app.

 

Audible

Audible is another cheaper way to get your hands on the latest and hottest audiobooks available on the market.  This comes as a monthly subscription.  Think Netflix, but for audiobooks.  It costs $14.95 a month for 1 free audiobook of your choice and an additional 30% off on other books once your free book quota has been used that month.  They also have a neat option to roll over your credits if you do not want to buy any audiobook for that month.  They also have levels of membership for a higher monthly fee if you want more book credits.

If you have been living under a rock and do not know this, Audible is an Amazon company so it also has whispersync for ebooks that you have purchased so that you can switch between ebook and audiobook (this is only available if you have a Kindle).

Oyster

Osyter is like the Netflix of ebooks. It costs $9.95 a month and gives you access to a slew of ebooks, some NYT Bestsellers.  And although they don’t feature “hot off the press” books, they have a pretty good library of books from multiple genres to choose from.

 

 

Scribd

Scribd, same as with Oyster is like the Netflix of ebook AND now they have added Audiobooks!  at only $8.99 per month, I think this is the better option!