download free
Many websites offer free e-books and audiobooks. project gutenberg lists more than 67,000 copyright-free titles that can be read online or downloaded in a wide range of formats. In addition, librivox offers more than 16,000 audiobooks of old titles, read and recorded by volunteers from around the world.
bookbub (bookbub.com) has free and discounted downloads of some recently released books, particularly in categories like romance and suspense, with regular email alerts for cheap titles in the genres you’re interested in.
You are reading: How to save money on books
borrow virtually
Ebooks, audiobooks and comics can be borrowed for up to 14 days from the Internet Archive’s extensive collection. you must join openlibrary.org for free and download an encrypted file. Many of the titles available are recently published books from 1,100 libraries around the world.
If only one copy of the book you want is available, it can only be borrowed for one hour and must be read in a web book reading interface. automatically renews for another hour if you’re still reading it.
Your local library can also lend you copies of ebooks, comics, and audiobooks through your library card and an app, such as overdrive, libby, or loaner. You can then read your choice on a compatible smartphone, tablet, or e-reader like Kobo, Nook, PocketBook, or Tolino. kindles are not supported.
Books will disappear from your “shelf” in the app on the day they’re due, so you don’t have to worry about late fees.
become influencer
Websites such as netgalley.com and edelweiss.plus offer “influential readers” such as book reviewers and bloggers free access to review ebooks and audiobooks before they are published. in the industry these are sometimes referred to as “advanced reading prints” or bows. It’s up to the publisher to approve your application, which they will do based on your bio and your profile on sites like linkedin, twitter, and goodreads.
Bookstagrammers and booktubers, influencers who post on instagram and youtube, can often access free books from publishers through these websites.
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If you’re ready to review books on websites like amazon or goodreads, booksirens allows you to order review copies directly from authors, publishers, and publishers.
You may also be lucky enough to contact the editors directly or the authors using the hashtag #arcreaderswanted or #arcreaderswanted on twitter or instagram.
visit your local library
nearly 800 libraries have closed in britain since the government began its austerity campaign in 2010. if you want your local library to stay open, use it. many allow members to borrow 10 to 20 books and audiobooks for free.
look for it second hand
Buying used is better for the environment and often your wallet. if you shop at a charity shop, you’re also supporting a good cause.
One of the greatest pleasures of browsing charity shops is that you never know what you might find. But if you’re looking for a specific book, Oxfam’s website sells thousands at bargain prices. For example, at the time of writing, a quick search for bestselling children’s book author Jacqueline Wilson revealed 26 books for sale, with some newly released titles for just £1.49 (70% off MSRP). for sale to the public).
There are also great deals on “used books” at betterworldbooks.com. donate a book to someone in need for every one sold.
Another option is to search for a title through bookcrossing.com. Listed here are free books that have been published “in the wild” for a stranger to find – search to see if there is one near you. if you find it, log in to the website and report that you’ve been “caught”.
exchangewith a stranger
There are over 16,000 books available on bookswap.co.uk. “There are a lot of newly released books and books you can’t find anywhere else,” says triin vihur, a bookstaggrammer (@wordchild) who works part-time as the site’s social media manager.
You must first list the books you are willing to send to other users. then you get credits for posting them with a prepaid tag (so it costs you nothing) and you can use these credits to order books from a different user. if that user agrees to send you their book, they must surrender their credit and pay £3.85 postage and £2.66 postage and £1.19 exchange to receive the book.
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If you have a lot of books you want to get rid of, swapping can be fun and profitable. “I often find it cheaper to get books from bookswap.co.uk than other second-hand platforms,” says vihur.
She recommends ordering more than one book at a time from the same user, since you only pay one shipping fee no matter how many are in each package.
The carbon footprint of a book swap is smaller, and you like knowing that the books you no longer want are going to someone who really wants to read them.
It’s a very different experience than buying a second-hand book from an online seller, he says, “it brings a lot of joy.”
support independents
many independent bookstores have struggled to stay afloat during the pandemic and 31 have closed, according to the booksellers association. If you don’t have time to physically set foot in doors, consider supporting them online through bookshop.org.
this website will take care of your sale and give any independent bookstore you designate a 30% commission on the retail price of the book you buy.
“The beauty of this is that the bookstore doesn’t have to touch the order. the book doesn’t come off the shelves, it comes directly from our wholesale partner and is shipped directly to your home,” says nicole vanderbilt, uk managing director. “The bookstore doesn’t have the cost, hassle and time to pack your order and mail it. so, in addition to giving them incremental income, we give them a lot of their time back so they can focus on the part of the job they love and are exceptionally good at.”
says that most of the books the site sells are 7% off RRP and free shipping if you spend over £40. “We try to give as much value as possible to the bookstore, which often doesn’t do discounts, while also making the prospect of buying from us online attractive, rather than somewhere like Amazon,” she says. >
Second class delivery, where you receive your book in two or three days, is £2.99, regardless of the size of your order, and first class, which takes one day, is £4.10.
The site has generated over £2m for independent booksellers since November 2020 with around 500 participants.
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