I Read 60+ Books in 2021, I Spent Under 60 Dollars
How to read more without breaking the bank
Yes, I crunched the numbers.
Over the past year, I have read over 60+ books (62 in total for 2021). However, in reviewing my finances for the past year I realized I spent very little on books.
$55.90 (Canadian) to be exact.
I should say out of the 60+ books that I read this past year I paid a total of $55.90 (Canadian) that is.
But, if you factor in the books I bought but haven’t gotten to yet (in various mediums), that total is $152.36. Which, all things considered, isn’t too bad, since one of my favorite past-times is browsing around bookstores.
If you take $152.36, that equates out to $2.46 per book read (for the $55.90 it equals $0.90 per book). As I mentioned, the majority of books that I purchased, or spent money on, I haven’t yet had a chance to read. Instead, they sit on my shelf waiting to be cracked open.
For those who are interested my spending breakdown was as follows: Please note the books that I actually read over this past year are denoted with an asterisk*
$74.00 at Chapters for four books: -The Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse * -Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo -A Little Life by Hana Yanagahara -Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens *
$23.00 at my local used bookstore for three books -Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky -The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman * -The Shining by Steven King
$28.22 at bookoutlet.ca for three books: -Girl in the Dark by Anna Lyndsey -The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald -Refinery29 Money Diaries: Everything You’ve Ever Wanted To Know About Your Finances… And Everyone Else’s by Lindsey Stanberry
$27.14 at Kindle for three ebooks (to read on the app on my phone): -Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin -Window Shopping by Tessa Bailey -Year of the Nurse:a 2020 Covid-19 Pandemic Memoir by Cassandra Alexander *
How did I manage to read a fair amount but spend so little? (And by little I mean relatively speaking considering that both reading and buying books are two beloved hobbies of mine).
Well, there are many different ways that I go about obtaining books to read while limiting the amount that I am spending. In no particular order here are some of the strategies I use.
Online Discount Websites
There are a few online discount book websites that I like to browse and will look into when searching for a particular title. Thriftbooks.com and bookoutlet.ca are the two that I use most frequently. Here you can browse for used books or discounted books of many titles.
Thriftbooks.com is an online American retailer that sells used books. Here you can look up books by edition and each book is ranked in terms of condition (and priced accordingly). I find they have an excellent selection of titles, rarely do I not find a book I am looking for. The only con for me is that they are a US-based website so shipping and customs fees do apply when sending to Canada (the country I live in) or to other countries.
Bookoutlet.ca is a Canadian-based book retailer that sells overstock books. I find the selection on the site to be lacking at times, but worth checking for a particular title you are on the hunt for, as the deals can be great. They also have deals of the week, in which books are further discounted. Definitely worth the browse if you are looking to add more physical copies to your collection at a fraction of the cost.
In-person Used Book Stores
So, a great option to obtain inexpensive books is a used bookstore. Not only is it fun going to the used book store and browsing around, but it also is a great way to save money. It does take a bit of effort to hunt through books at the store if you are looking for a very specific author or title. However, if you are going in more open to whatever books happen to present themselves on that particular day I can bet you won’t be disappointed.
Comparatively the prices can vary at the used bookstore (dependent on book and availability). I happened to buy three books over this past year at the used book store (The Subtle Knife by Phillip Pullman, The Shining by Steven King, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky) all for $23.00. For reference, this is roughly the cost of what a new book at Indigo would be (or sometimes more depending on if it is hardcover or paperback).
My local used bookstore will provide store credits to you when you donate your used books. This is a great way to save books from landfills, to make sure they have a second home, and also gain a little bit of extra spending money when it comes to book buying. It’s not something that I have taken advantage of yet, but looking forward to utilizing it in the new year.
Your Local (or Not so Local) Library
I have hopped around a bit, from city to city within Canada during my adult life. During this time I have accrued more than one library card.
By logging into my city’s (or other city’s) public site I can use my card to borrow online audiobooks and ebooks for free. This allows me to still borrow from the library without having to actually go there. This has been by far the largest source I use to obtain books to read.
I prefer reading physical books, however, the majority of my reading is via my Kobo Clara HD e-reader or on my iPhone. The positive is also that the books will automatically be returned when your loan is done, so no need to worry about any late fees.
If you are more into reading physical books, rather than e-books, or audiobooks, you can also check these out from your local library in the city that you live in. This is a great way to save money, and who doesn’t love their local library?
If your library does not have the title that you are looking for, recommend the library purchase the book you are looking for. Many libraries have options to recommend new titles online.
Little Libraries
Little libraries are another great option. If you have some books of your own that you are looking to part with, or for whatever reason, you have duplicate copies, you can bring your extra books to the little library and exchange them for another great read. The thing I love about little libraries, (aside from being aesthetically cute) is that you never really know what you will find.
You could find a cookbook, a children’s book, a YA fantasy, a thriller, a great non-fiction read. Hardcover, paperback — you name it. Additionally, there is a website owner of little libraries can register theirs and little library frequenters can use to seek them out at littlefreelibrary.org.
I should also note if I am not able to get my hands on a title, or I want to read something in a timely fashion (for a book club for example) I will purchase it. But, looking forward to planning better and cutting down even more on my book-related spending in 2022 (except for gifts, of course, because who doesn’t love a bookish gift).
Let me know if you have any more great low or no-cost recommendations for obtaining books to read, I would love to hear them.
