Comments on: 8 Ways To Read More And Pay Less

By: Noah Kephart

Noah Kephart — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:24:07 +0000

@ Jason V.

Leaving out a cup of coffee beans helps absorb the smell that books emit as they age. Leave them out for a couple weeks and then replace them.

By: Niels Gouman

Niels Gouman — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:54:00 +0000

@Nate
Just give away all books that you’ve read or have no interest in anymore, give them to friends, collegues, your boss, random people. As long as you think they can benefit from it you’re good.
Somehow the more you give away the more you’ll get. And having a bunch of books just taking up space in your house is a waste anyway, win-win I’d say.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 01:59:11 +0000

There’s really no point in owning a TON of books. (He says, even though he OWNS a TON of books). I try to read what I can, if I buy it, and then donate it to the library. If it’s something I’ll be reading often and again, I’ll hang on to it. Other wise if I have the itch to read it again it’s at the library.

Also, dead people sales and yardsales are awesome places to find books.

Other than that, why buy when you can hit the library, which we all pay for anyway out of our taxes and need our patronage?

By: Stormbringer

Stormbringer — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:24:08 +0000

My area has an excellent inter-library loan system, where the libraries are “members”. I get regular and audio books from places I never heard of.

One caution on library book sales is to stay out of the way of the dealers. I have literally had things snatched away from me as they get dirt cheap books so that they can turn around and sell them at much, much higher prices in their own stores. Also, by removing the stock by buying it, they create business for themselves by (a) making it unavailable to the rest of us, and (b) making us unwilling to go back to those library sales.

But I have come to the realization that most of it is clutter. There are many stories of people who have boxes and shelves full of books that they will never read. Somehow, they think that by having books take up space, they’ll learn by osmosis. I’ve dumped and donated many books that it took me YEARS to accumulate, but I had to get honest and realize that I should focus on the few that I really need. And that the ones I actually need to own are even fewer.

By: Nate Desmond

Nate Desmond — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:27:30 +0000

@ Niels – Sounds like a great system! How do you get them free?

@ Jason – I actually like the older smell. You might want to try some of the ideas mentioned at: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf585248.tip.html

By: Jason V

Jason V — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:57:17 +0000

PS: Has anyone found a good way to get rid of “old book odors” from mildew? I’m not sure if this is possible.

By: Jason V

Jason V — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:55:53 +0000

Lots of ways to get inexpensive books. I can’t wait for your list of “What to read” someday.
I’ve also recently gained access to a church library which has books which the local “public library” would never have. (Darwin’s Black Box, etc.)

I listen to more books than I read. I’ve just recently discovered librivox for free recordings of “post-copyright” books.

Also, as a side note, I once picked up a few boxes of old books at an auction. I think that I paid $10 for the 5 boxes, and kept only a few. I found an old Lincoln biography that I liked, and old science / model rocket books that are actually useful. The rest I sold or gave away.

For Henty audiobooks, this is a good source, but not inexpensive: http://www.jimhodgesaudiobooks.com/

By: Geoff Hill

Geoff Hill — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:12:59 +0000

A nice tool for reading books on an iPhone is Stanza by Lexcycle. They have a free app at http://www.lexcycle.com It operates like a mini-Kindle with animated page turning option, etc.

By: Geoff Hill

Geoff Hill — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:08:08 +0000

Amazon also sells used books if they are available for the particular title you are searching for. The sellers are listed/rated and the condition of the book listed as well.

By: Niels Gouman

Niels Gouman — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:49:04 +0000

I get free books all the time, more books than time to read.

Here’s what I do: When I’ve read a book (or don’t want to read it, because I already know enough or not interested) I simply give it to somebody who might benefit from it, and tell them to pass it on when finished
For some reason the more books I give away (for free) the more I get (for free)