20 Ways to Get Free or Cheap Books, and Give Away Your Old Ones

Every Wednesday is Simplicity Day on Zen Habits.

If you’re looking to declutter your home and simplify your life, if you’re like me, one of the hardest areas to deal with is books: getting rid of old ones and cutting back on the expense of buying new ones.

But there are plenty of ways to get free or cheap books, and for the true fan of simplicity, these are the only ways to go.

First, let’s address the issue of getting rid of books: you gotta let go. I know, it’s difficult. It’s like getting rid of your children. But as the father of six children, I can tell you, sometimes it’s better with fewer of them in the house. (I’m kidding! About the children. Not the books.)

The question to ask yourself is this: “Why do I want to keep this book?” If you’re really going to read it again, keep it. I have a couple dozen books I truly love and really do plan on reading again, once I’ve forgotten the details.

But often books are kept almost like trophies or mounted animal heads — they show how much we’ve read, and the big books we’ve tackled, and how smart we are. Be honest with yourself — you’re never going to read most of those books again. You have too many ahead of you to tackle.

Get rid of them.

What follows are some of the best ways to get rid of your books, and to get more great ones for very little.

Bookswapping
This is one of the best ways to regularly get free books. Of course, you can do it for free with friends, family members, classmates, neighbors — I regularly swap books with people I know. But when you really want to get books you really want, online bookswapping services rock. They’re not free, as you usually have to pay for shipping, but they’re close.

Bookmooch. One of the more popular of the online bookswapping services. Give away books to get credits, and use those credits to get other books you find online. Pretty good selection. It’s a free service, although you pay the price of shipping the books you give away.
PaperBackSwap. Pretty much the same deal as Bookmooch — give away books to get credit, use credits to get other books. You pay for shipping (typically $2.13, according to the site). More than 1.3 million books available. No membership fee at this time.
Readers United. Again, get credits for giving away books, use them to get other books. Free service, but you pay for shipping to give others your books.
FrugalReader. Another book trading service. Free standard membership; the paid premium membership includes extra features.
Title Trader. This takes the same concepts as the other book swapping services above and extends them to not only books, but CDs and DVDs.
Bookins. Same kind of book swapping service, but with a $3.99 fee per book you receive. You don’t pay for shipping books out, however.
WhatsOnMyBookshelf. Book swapping service … receive points for listing books and sending them, use them to get books from others. You pay for shipping books to others.
Novel Action. This one works a bit differently than the others. First, there’s a membership fee of $25 a year (a little over $2 a month). No transaction fees, but you pay $4.80 for shipping up to 6 pounds of books. List books you want, and then send them an equal number of books. Once they’re received, you will get the books you want.
ReadItSwapIt. This is for readers in the UK — again, give away and get books, just pay for shipping them to others. It doesn’t use a credit system like the others, and you are free not to send a book that’s requested by others. Free service.

Bookhopping
Similar to book swapping, bookhopping is a way to exchange books over the Internet. Basically, you list the books on your shelf, and agree to ship any of your books when they’re requested. In exchange, you can request any books you like. No points are earned or exchanged.

BookCrossing. An extremely unique system, it’s more like karma for books. A very basic explanation: read a book, label it with a unique book number, and then leave it somewhere. Anywhere. You can leave it in a coffeeshop, with a friend, on a park bench (”releasing it into the wild”). There are designated book crossing spots all over the world, but they’re not required. If someone picks up your book, by chance, they write a little review of it online, and you can read all the reviews of the particular book you “released into the wild”. Now, you can also look at book crossing spots in your area to see what books have been left there, and go pick it up if you want. Interestingly, there’s a map that shows where books are “released” or “caught” all over the world — in real time. Fascinating. It’s definitely a must-see.
America’s BookShelf. List your books online, and when one is requested, you’ll receive a postage-paid envelope in the mail — just drop it in the mailbox. To get books, you’ll need to buy book credits. Also charges a $12 annual membership fee ($1 a month).
BookHopper. Works very similar to book swapping sites, but it’s slightly different. First, you list books that you’re willing to ship to people, and when they’re requested, you ship them (at your cost). You can also request anyone’s books. The more books you list, the more you can request. There’s no credits, but there’s a sort of karma system that incorporates how many books you list, how many you send, and the feedback you leave for others.

Really free books

Library. The classic method, and it’s totally free. If you haven’t been to your local library recently, I’d recommend you give it a try. Many of them are surprisingly great.
Friends, family, neighbors, classmates. Set up a little exchange with people you know. It can be a formal book club, or just set up a place to leave books, and when you’re done reading a book, leave it and take another. Get creative — no shipping costs are involved, so you can exchange great books for free.
Free ebooks. If you don’t mind reading books on the computer, you can get thousands for free. There are a lot of sites for free ebooks, but a couple of the more popular include Project Gutenberg and Free-ebooks.net.

Other options

BooksFree. It’s like NetFlix, but for books. Fairly low monthly membership fee, and you can check out multiple books at the same time. When you’re done, send them back (you don’t pay for shipping) and get the next ones on your list. No late fees. Lowest price is $9.99 for 2 books at a time; plans go up to 12 at a time.
Zunafish. This is a trading site for anything, really. Not only books, but CDs, DVDs, games, computer stuff, anything. Just list the stuff you want to trade, and people will make trade offers. If you see an offer you like, agree to it, and then you each ship the stuff to each other. No membership fee, but there’s a $1 per transaction fee.
Thrift shops. I make a regular trip to a couple of charity thrift shops (help a good cause and get books for only cents), as well as a very cheap used book store — I give them my used books for credits, and then pay only a couple of dollars for a couple dozen used books.
Swapbooks. Despite its title, it’s really a way for students to sell used textbooks and buy them for cheap.
half.com. A branch of eBay, half.com is a way to sell your used books and to get some good deals on other used books.
LibraryThing. Well, this isn’t really a way to get free or cheap books (hence it’s not counted in the “20 Ways”) but I would be remiss if I talked about all these book services and didn’t include LibraryThing. What it is: simply a way to list your books online, and allow others to see what books you’re reading, and to see what others are reading. A cool tool.

What about you? Have you tried any of these services? Have other favorites of your own? Let us know in the comments or discuss in the forum.

See also:

If you liked this article, please bookmark it in del.icio.us. Thanks!

20 Ways to Get Free or Cheap Books, and Give Away Your Old Ones

Every Wednesday is Simplicity Day on Zen Habits.

But there are plenty of ways to get free or cheap books, and for the true fan of simplicity, these are the only ways to go.

Get rid of them.

What follows are some of the best ways to get rid of your books, and to get more great ones for very little.

Bookmooch. One of the more popular of the online bookswapping services. Give away books to get credits, and use those credits to get other books you find online. Pretty good selection. It’s a free service, although you pay the price of shipping the books you give away.
PaperBackSwap. Pretty much the same deal as Bookmooch — give away books to get credit, use credits to get other books. You pay for shipping (typically $2.13, according to the site). More than 1.3 million books available. No membership fee at this time.
Readers United. Again, get credits for giving away books, use them to get other books. Free service, but you pay for shipping to give others your books.
FrugalReader. Another book trading service. Free standard membership; the paid premium membership includes extra features.
Title Trader. This takes the same concepts as the other book swapping services above and extends them to not only books, but CDs and DVDs.
Bookins. Same kind of book swapping service, but with a $3.99 fee per book you receive. You don’t pay for shipping books out, however.
WhatsOnMyBookshelf. Book swapping service … receive points for listing books and sending them, use them to get books from others. You pay for shipping books to others.
Novel Action. This one works a bit differently than the others. First, there’s a membership fee of $25 a year (a little over $2 a month). No transaction fees, but you pay $4.80 for shipping up to 6 pounds of books. List books you want, and then send them an equal number of books. Once they’re received, you will get the books you want.
ReadItSwapIt. This is for readers in the UK — again, give away and get books, just pay for shipping them to others. It doesn’t use a credit system like the others, and you are free not to send a book that’s requested by others. Free service.

BookCrossing. An extremely unique system, it’s more like karma for books. A very basic explanation: read a book, label it with a unique book number, and then leave it somewhere. Anywhere. You can leave it in a coffeeshop, with a friend, on a park bench (”releasing it into the wild”). There are designated book crossing spots all over the world, but they’re not required. If someone picks up your book, by chance, they write a little review of it online, and you can read all the reviews of the particular book you “released into the wild”. Now, you can also look at book crossing spots in your area to see what books have been left there, and go pick it up if you want. Interestingly, there’s a map that shows where books are “released” or “caught” all over the world — in real time. Fascinating. It’s definitely a must-see.
America’s BookShelf. List your books online, and when one is requested, you’ll receive a postage-paid envelope in the mail — just drop it in the mailbox. To get books, you’ll need to buy book credits. Also charges a $12 annual membership fee ($1 a month).
BookHopper. Works very similar to book swapping sites, but it’s slightly different. First, you list books that you’re willing to ship to people, and when they’re requested, you ship them (at your cost). You can also request anyone’s books. The more books you list, the more you can request. There’s no credits, but there’s a sort of karma system that incorporates how many books you list, how many you send, and the feedback you leave for others.

Really free books

Library. The classic method, and it’s totally free. If you haven’t been to your local library recently, I’d recommend you give it a try. Many of them are surprisingly great.
Friends, family, neighbors, classmates. Set up a little exchange with people you know. It can be a formal book club, or just set up a place to leave books, and when you’re done reading a book, leave it and take another. Get creative — no shipping costs are involved, so you can exchange great books for free.
Free ebooks. If you don’t mind reading books on the computer, you can get thousands for free. There are a lot of sites for free ebooks, but a couple of the more popular include Project Gutenberg and Free-ebooks.net.

Other options

BooksFree. It’s like NetFlix, but for books. Fairly low monthly membership fee, and you can check out multiple books at the same time. When you’re done, send them back (you don’t pay for shipping) and get the next ones on your list. No late fees. Lowest price is $9.99 for 2 books at a time; plans go up to 12 at a time.
Zunafish. This is a trading site for anything, really. Not only books, but CDs, DVDs, games, computer stuff, anything. Just list the stuff you want to trade, and people will make trade offers. If you see an offer you like, agree to it, and then you each ship the stuff to each other. No membership fee, but there’s a $1 per transaction fee.
Thrift shops. I make a regular trip to a couple of charity thrift shops (help a good cause and get books for only cents), as well as a very cheap used book store — I give them my used books for credits, and then pay only a couple of dollars for a couple dozen used books.
Swapbooks. Despite its title, it’s really a way for students to sell used textbooks and buy them for cheap.
half.com. A branch of eBay, half.com is a way to sell your used books and to get some good deals on other used books.
LibraryThing. Well, this isn’t really a way to get free or cheap books (hence it’s not counted in the “20 Ways”) but I would be remiss if I talked about all these book services and didn’t include LibraryThing. What it is: simply a way to list your books online, and allow others to see what books you’re reading, and to see what others are reading. A cool tool.

What about you? Have you tried any of these services? Have other favorites of your own? Let us know in the comments or discuss in the forum.

See also:

If you liked this article, please bookmark it in del.icio.us. Thanks!

Posted on 4 July 2007 in Books, Simplicity |
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Comments (50)

Anwen Says:

July 4th, 2007, 8:34 am

UK readers could also use http://www.greenmetropolis.com which is easy to use and also benefits the Woodland Trust.

Yan Says:

July 4th, 2007, 8:58 am

You can also access Full books to get free books online.

Beth Says:

July 4th, 2007, 9:01 am

Some libraries accept book donations. If you want to remove book clutter, donating to the local library is a quick, easy way to do it.

Our library has a fund raiser to sell the donated books. I buy a stack of books for less than $10 and after finishing them, re-donate them to the library.

Sam Says:

July 4th, 2007, 9:27 am

I have a problem.

I like to actually own the books that I read. I like adding books to my personal library, so checking them out of the library doesn’t cut it for me anymore. I figure there are worse ways to spend my money than on books, so I try to keep the guilt I feel for not using these free alternatives to a minimum.

Leo Says:

July 4th, 2007, 10:00 am

@Sam: Just FYI, with most of the services here, you actually own the books you swap. Only the library and booksfree are loaners.

Balfour Says:

July 4th, 2007, 10:02 am

The link to the forum doesn’t work! Is there a new thread set up for books?

I don’t keep books, generally, unless it’s a reference book, the rare thing I think I might like to take a look at again (and I’ll review later whether or not to move it on), or a few books of sentimental value. My feeling is, keep the river flowing. I get most of my “new” books from one of two used book stores in my neighborhood. One is a non-profit that raises money for literacy work and school libraries and has the best used books in town at the best prices. The other store is where I bring in books for credit and then can use credits to get other books. Yes, sometimes I bring books in from the former to the latter. Is that so wrong? I think not. It keeps them both alive and gets me more books.

I sometimes find great books at yard and rummage sales. These are usually dirt cheap and sometimes free at the end of the sale. And I give books away to people.

I would definitely use the library, but the system in my city - DC - is abysmal (but it will rise; they’re working on it.) I strongly advocate using the library if there’s a good one. I’ve lived in great library places and there’s nothing like it. A good system will let you reserve books online and then you are notified when they’re available and even bring it to whatever branch you want. You can read a review for a new book and go and put it into the system. Very cool.

Every once in a while, when I really, really want or need a book (for book club, for example) and I can’t find it elsewhere, I’ll but it new. First, I’ll try to get it at an independent bookstore. Last resort is Amazon.com (where I also sometimes have credits for free stuff from using the Amazon Visa card, although I’m cutting back on credit card use.)

Balfour Says:

July 4th, 2007, 10:06 am

BTW, which of the online used book buying and swapping services do people like best? I’ve thought about using them, but between the hassle and the price of shipping, it seems like my neighborhood options are better. Plus, because DC is such a well read city, there’s always lots of great books in circulation.

Leo Says:

July 4th, 2007, 10:23 am

@Balfour: thanks for letting me know about the broken link to the forum … I’ve fixed it. There isn’t a specific thread about books (last time I checked) but the link is simply an invitation to start one if people want to talk about it (and a reminder that the forums are a great place to discuss things like this). Thanks, Balfour!

Joey Says:

July 4th, 2007, 11:12 am

I have actually found some great deals at flea markets. Most I have gone to, books are being sold for like $2-3 for a dozen. I also go to those half off book stores where everything is half the cover price.

Kristin Says:

July 4th, 2007, 11:31 am

Leo, you have rocked my world! I am an avid library goer and used bookstore visitor. But, for some reason, online bookswapping and bookhopping had not yet occurred to me. Yahoo! I have hours of fun ahead of me! Many thanks for this great post.

No matter what you do, you should support your local library. We are fortunate to have free lending libraries, and we need to support them so that folks who do not have internet access or extra cash to spend on books can still enjoy reading as much as we do. Use some of the money you might spend on new books to contribute to your local library.

Also, remember that by letting books go out of your life, you are making room for many more great books to come in to your life. I have found that I read many more books now that I don’t hoard them.

Dominic Says:

July 4th, 2007, 11:32 am

I’ve mentioned this on other blogs, and it bears repeating. I spent $20 for a used PDA (Casio E100) on Ebay and I spent another $10 for a copy of Starbuck, and I read nearly everything on my PDA now. Between Gutenberg and the other ebook repositories, and my torrented DVD library of Blackmask.com, I’ve got tens of thousands of books in my reading list. For those not too troubled by scruples, there’s several newsgroups dedicated to posting more modern and current ebooks, meaning that for the price of a single hardcover, you can read pretty much anything you want.
I’ve even been able to convert some of those people who say “I could never read from a computer screen…” The aspect ratio and adjustable font size make this a non-issue once you try it.

David Finch Says:

July 4th, 2007, 11:37 am

Leo, great list of options and ideas. I personally utilize my library and a chain store that we have called Half Price Books. At Half Price Books I can sell my books and then buy other used books.

Rebecca Says:

July 4th, 2007, 11:48 am

Noooooooooooo! I can’t….tooooo hard. ;-) Ok, so I’m being dramatic. This is a huge area for me. As an academician, I do need to keep more books (particularly music texts) than most, but I can freely admit that most of my books are not kept for that reason (ahem.).

I have managed to make a decent stack of books with which to part. I’m going to give my friend who lives down the street first dibs, and then the rest are going to the library. I doubt however, that the library is going to be hugely interested in the Central Opera Service National Conference’s New Directions for the 90s. That may have to be recycled, LOL.

Great ideas, Leo. I may try out bookhopping with a few items.

For those who like to keep track of what they’ve read, I’d suggest:

http://www.goodreads.com

You can list your books, indicate whether you have a copy available to sell or swap, rate them, “shelve” them (tags), etc. It is a virtual library for those who just like to know they “have” them.

Joel Says:

July 4th, 2007, 12:44 pm

I have thought about this same thing. The conclusion that I came was the same, too. If you really believe that you will be reading that book again in the future, then it makes sense to keep it. Then, get rid of it once you’ve read it. You can always check it out again from a public library if you want to.

Books that are good for you are the only exception. I love _how to read a book_, by Mortimer Adler. He gives a good working definition of this. The good books really are the genuine classics that you are likely to gain from, no matter how many times you read them.

I encourage everyone to check out that book — it’s really wonderful.

Ruckus Says:

July 4th, 2007, 13:56 pm

As a librarian, I just wanted to say that I am happy to see all the support for public libraries! I do agree that the quality of service can differ, but in general libraries are a great resource. Another alternative is to become a member of a local academic library as they usually have much larger collections and resources than public libraries. I miss all the resources and services I had access to as a graduate student. From reading multiple blogs on simplifying/productivity/etc. the library figures in quite a bit to these efforts. As others have pointed out, the library is important in not only simplifying for those of us that have the privilege to do so, but in providing access to information for those that are on the margins of society (in whatever capacity) as well.

lucky8 Says:

July 4th, 2007, 16:40 pm

Since I started commuting to work (3 hours a day by train and bus) I rediscovered my local library and I have to say I’m thrilled. I now read, on average, one book a week and as I’m saving to go traveling I couldn’t afford to buy books that often. So the library is the perfect resource for me. They may not have as large a selection as Waterstones, or even the newest releases, but every weekend that I go I manage to find 3 or 4 books. Being forced into using the library also helped me get over my fetish of owning books.

Now all I need to do is get around to taking my old books to Oxfam and I can get some shelf space back!!

William Profet from OneJobTwoSalaries.com Says:

July 4th, 2007, 18:59 pm

I love my books and I cannot leave them :), but thanks for the list! I will spread it among my friends!

Regards,
William

Elizabeth Says:

July 4th, 2007, 20:10 pm

I am not a rich person but I do love books. If I want my own copy of a book, I would rather buy it, and from a local independent bookseller, even though it would be more convenient to buy from a chain store and easier and cheaper to buy from Amazon. That way I am making sure that the author gets a royalty and doing my tiny bit to fight the domination of the chain stores.

That probably sounds ridiculous (it sounds a little ridiculous to me, actually). But if you really do love a book enough to want it on your bookshelf, why not ask yourself if you don’t have enough respect for the author to want to pay the author, too?

Just a thought.

Jeffrey Says:

July 4th, 2007, 23:12 pm

I’ve been using bookins for about a year now, great site. I love being able to just print a label and off goes my book. The credit system is weighted based on their scale, so its not 1:1 swapping, but I’m just glad to get things out of my house and to someone who wants to read them, at no cost to me!

I’ve also been using bookmooch & paperbackswap. Good sites, have better luck finding books at times, though I’ve had a hard time getting things from bookmooch based on timing. Other than than, good experiences all around!

George Burke Says:

July 4th, 2007, 23:53 pm

Just wanted to make everyone aware of another “Netflix for books” — BookSwim.com. We offer both paperbacks AND hardcover book rentals.

George Burke
BookSwim Online Book Rental Library Club

Ethan Says:

July 5th, 2007, 0:15 am

I just wanted to thank you for posting these links. For a while now I’ve been wanting to get the clutter out of my bookshelves and out to someone who could appreciate them, and this morning I signed up for Bookmooch. Already about half of my listings have been requested! I’m already starting to think about what I’d like to add to my wishlist. Keep up the great work!

apple Says:

July 5th, 2007, 1:43 am

this is a free way,and seems best~

Abel Says:

July 5th, 2007, 4:19 am

Gosh, I’ve never thought getting rid of books can be so organized and there are so many ways I can choose from. I used to think giving away is the only way…

hat Says:

July 5th, 2007, 4:31 am

Another swapping site for books and other items: http://www.chancexchange.com

T.F. Torrey Says:

July 5th, 2007, 4:38 am

Getting rid of books is a very hard thing to do. Sites like these make the task easier to bear, but they can be surprisingly difficult to find. Thanks for putting together the list, Leo.

Vidya Says:

July 5th, 2007, 6:03 am

Is there any similar service available in India?
http://www.dimdima.com, the online children’s magazine has got a printed magazine named Dimdima.
To help public libraries and school/ college libraries with in India, we are ready to send them the previous issues free of cost.
If any librarian is interested to receive the previous issues, please contact me at vidya@dimdima.com mentioning FREE PREVIOUS COPIES as subject line.
Please note: this offer is available with in India only.
Regards
Vidya
Administrator
http://www.dimdima.com

Grayson De Ritis Says:

July 5th, 2007, 11:10 am

PaperBookSwap is great :-) I like their grassroots appeal

Rita Says:

July 5th, 2007, 12:07 pm

is there anywhere you can get free books I have a 2 yaer old and she loves books but I cant afford to buy them being a single mom

Rita Says:

July 5th, 2007, 12:08 pm

is there anywhere you can get free books I have a 2 year old and she loves books but I cant afford to buy them being a single mom

Lauren Says:

July 5th, 2007, 12:10 pm

Elizabeth — I’m the same way about buying books to support the authors and certain bookstores. I’m an aspiring novelist and it’d be hypocritical of me to acquire only used or swapped books while continuing to dream of getting royalty checks one day.

That said, I’ve cut part of my book budget by getting classics from the library or the used bookstore while continuing to buy new novels from my favorite independent bookstores. Buying a new copy of a debut novel, particularly in hardcover, is the best way to put in a “vote” for a new author. It tells the bookseller to continue stocking debut authors, and it tells the publishing industry to keep signing them!

rottie Says:

July 5th, 2007, 16:32 pm

Is it my idea or are all those bookswap-sites US-only?

Does anybody know any good European bookswap sites?

Erinn Says:

July 5th, 2007, 21:24 pm

There’s a thread started for this topic on the ZenHabits forum. I’m interested to hear more about your experiences with these book swapping sites.

http://zenhabits.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=43

Gillian Says:

July 11th, 2007, 22:45 pm

Before you give your books away, join the Rent-a-book scheme and let your books raise money for one of Africa’s best development projects – the School of St Jude in Tanzania. The school provides free education to bright children from the poorest homes.

All you need to do is download the bookplates and stick them into the front of your books before you give them away. How easy is that?!!

Check it out here — http://schoolstjude.blogspot.com/2007/07/rent-book-fundraiser.html

Cynthia Friedlob, The Thoughtful Consumer Says:

July 19th, 2007, 13:02 pm

Dominic said, “For those not too troubled by scruples, there’s several newsgroups dedicated to posting more modern and current ebooks, meaning that for the price of a single hardcover, you can read pretty much anything you want.”

Readers, please be troubled by scruples. Violating copyright laws is not a good way to save money. Also, consider the fact that most authors make such a small percentage of the sale price of our work that we can use all the support we can get!

I hope that readers will choose to enjoy the many other great options suggested in this post.

Tom Says:

July 20th, 2007, 11:21 am

aNobii is like librarything on steroids. link:

http://www.anobii.com/anobi/anobii_home.php

Lynn Says:

July 29th, 2007, 18:24 pm

The best way I know to move out books you don’t love and/or reread regularly is to find grateful people who would like them.

http://www.AdoptALibrary.org helps you find people you will be glad to give them to, PLUS helps you free up shelf space - for new books you buy yourself!

Mr. Carman Says:

July 30th, 2007, 22:45 pm

This reminds me of a book I just read -Checkout the new Ford Book - Ford and the American Dream - Founded on Right Decisions by Clifton Lambreth - http://www.thefordbook.com

Lauren Says:

August 1st, 2007, 15:28 pm

I’ve been donating books to a boys’ detention facility. I’m also holding a sale to benefit my school library. You can contact the warden at a local prison and ask about donating. You can also call homeless shelters. There are lots of good things to do with old books.

Jackson Says:

August 5th, 2007, 1:26 am

I tried the Ford Book, Mr. Carman. Sorry, but “free” was too much.

(Did you really understand this article? This site?)

STL Mom Says:

August 6th, 2007, 18:34 pm

I “release” a lot of books at my book club. Every other month, instead of discussing a book that we all read, we bring books to swap. We describe each book we brought with us, and whoever wants to read it, takes it. As I’ve learned more about the tastes of my fellow book clubbers, I’ve searched through my shelves for more books that I think the others will like.

Matt Says:

August 7th, 2007, 15:58 pm

Here are a couple of other articles mentioning book options:

http://uberhow.com/content/view/184/5/
http://www.ehow.com/how_2045525_get-rid-books.html

Trevor Says:

August 14th, 2007, 20:35 pm

I keep forgetting about Half Price Books. The books there are usually -literally- half price and I laugh as I leave with my bargain new-edition. Heh heh heh. Anyways, I usually sell old books I don’t want anymore there (although one time I dropped off about four larger books, and got only a quarter!).

I think you forgot Bartleby [http://www.bartleby.com/] which is similar to Project Gutenberg, but unique in its own way.

barbad Says:

August 21st, 2007, 1:39 am

I would simply go to http://www.valorebooks.com and use the discount coupon code: cheap100 to get the books at the cheapest prices available. I think it is a better deal, specially with the discount coupon.

I think valorebooks has a good collection of cheap books when it comes to textbooks.

Karla D Says:

August 22nd, 2007, 4:50 am

i’m an overt bibliophile. i LOVE books ever since i could read. i love paperbackswap.com (pbs). they have a VAST selection. i joined their joined site swapacd.com and now i get credits for sending out my cd’s i don’t want and can transfer those credits to request for more books at pbs. Also i had many large thick business, tech, spiritual, economic books that were taking up valuable space and which i no longer read and members requested them and the cost to me was only media mail up to $2.47 FOR OVER 2 POUND BOOKS. So yeah, i’ve reorganized/refurbished my book collection to books I REALLY want or just with to “try out.” Many that i “try out” or those books i don’t consider keeping go back into cycle into pbs so others can request them.

i’ll also use my local library and use their ILL(interlibrary service) to request books i can’t get in my library system. Worldcat.org lists the many books in all the libraries in the US which may have the books you want. There are of course limitations. For me as far as my experience with ILL goes, you can only keep them for 2 to 3 weeks and can only renew once and loss/late fees are expensive at $1 per day. Also, it takes at least a month to receive your books. And you can’t request books published this year, only books in the past. I search here first before I actually go out to buy a used book for the author.

As far as going for online “non-legal” sources, I agree with it wholeheartedly to encourage literacy. It’s a way to discover new authors and new books, especially for those who can’t afford it or who don’t have easy access to it(foreign country). I mean, how is this different from getting the book at the library or borrowing from a friend/family/relative? No difference!! If it’s an author I find I LOVE reading, then i’ll definitely support them by buying her/his new books at even hardcover prices. But if it’s an author i’m ho-hum about or not really interested in, they wouldn’t have lost anything anyway!! i’d never buy their books or i’ll just buy used. I remember getting excited over the promos for this author’s book and waiting early at the bookstore ON A SCHOOL DAY and paying over $30 for a hardcover book from a “renowned, famous, best-selling” author and couldn’t stand reading her book!! There’s no way i’d do that again!! I want to review the author’s books for myself now before I just plop down my $$$$’s and with the internet age, this is a benefit for everyone!

Adam Says:

November 22nd, 2007, 21:14 pm

Great article. One site I like to use for finding discount books is SmartBookFinder.com. They have basically search all the major on-line bookstores for you and find you the lowest price book. I used them in college and saved a ton on my textbooks.
Also, a few other tips. Try to buy used and definitely buy on-line if you can. Lastly, buy from a reputable bookseller. Cheers!

Rebecca Says:

February 13th, 2008, 17:19 pm

I agree that buying from local sellers is ideal, but Amazon also has a wonderful “used” book (and other stuff) service that allows you to purchase used (and sometimes brand new) books at far below cover prices. Sellers tend to concentrate on certain topics, though, so purchasing from multiple people may result in higher shipping costs. I love it when I want something to keep, and I don’t want to pay full price!

John Harvey Says:

February 14th, 2008, 12:07 pm

Hello all, I mostly agree that we should all shop around for the bargains, so please have a look at my site and give me your feedback as to whether you like it, hate it or are not bothered!

John Harvey Says:

February 14th, 2008, 16:57 pm

To add to my previous comment about shopping around for the bargains, I would add that the ethos of giving and swapping books is very charitable my spin would be check what you have before giving it away. My reasoning is this, if you were one of those who bought one of the JK Rowlings first Harry Potter series and it was a first edition and gave it away to a charity shop a swap or one of the many sites listed above and two years later you discover the book was what is termed as a rare modern first edition worth £15,000.00, my guess is you would not have been be so keen to have given it away. This basically is what I am about making people aware of the hidden treasures in the attic. John.

mathias njoya Says:

April 24th, 2008, 9:23 am

hi i’m from cameroon a pharmacy student and i will like any people who knows where or how i can get free medical books should please contact me my email homnepoet@gmail.com

ellis Says:

May 11th, 2008, 18:46 pm

i know this is an old post, but i have a query/ help request…

my study is soon to become a nursery. I hope to keep a few books close to hand, but is there an alternative storage system that would help me keep my books easily findable?

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