Skip to main content

Free Books and How to Find Them

I've acquired a number of free books lately and thought I would share my secrets. Feel free to share yours in the comments!


I've been a member of Bookmooch for about 8 years now, and while it's not always gratifying in the short term, it's been amazing over the long haul. Eventually, books I'm interested in come around, and in the meantime, I can send excess books to good homes that will care for them (and then perhaps pass them onto another loving home). 

Recently, I've acquired Beggars and Choosers by Nancy Kress and Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, which were on my wish list for years, so it's not the fastest method but it gets results!

2. Little Free Libraries

I'd vaguely heard of Little Free Libraries when I discovered one in my neighborhood. I always enjoy checking out the selection, and it changes often enough that every once in a while, I see a book of interest. I've also added a few books to the collection.

Recently, I've acquired Paper Towns by John Green and Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok. There's no guarantee that a book you want will magically appear, but browsing is part of the fun!

3. The Library

And then, there's the actual public library! Although I occasionally have some success getting specific books I want, I've found that most of the fun of the library is browsing or looking for popular books from years ago. If you really want a current bestseller, there's probably a long waiting list or if you need a specific book now, it's not often the best way to go, but to walk in a roomful of free books is itself a pleasure.

Recently, I've been checking out audiobooks including Anne Tyler's The Accidental Tourist. It's  a good deal since audiobooks are usually expensive and, unlike physical books, I don't find I like to re-read them. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Book Review: The Speed of Clouds by Miriam Seidel

Book Review: The Speed of Clouds by Miriam Seidel *To Be Released from New Door Books on April 10, 2018* Mindy Vogel is haunted by the future. In frequent daydreams, she toggles between her real, wheelchair-bound life and the adventurous life of her fanfic alter ego, SkyLog officer Kat Wanderer. She's haunted by all that Kat can do which she cannot---belong to an organization of comrades, walk, and fall in love---yet. Because at twenty-four, Mindy's future is very much ahead of her, wheelchair notwithstanding. Through Mindy's "SkyLog" fanzine and related emails, Seidel evokes Star Trek fandom around the turn of the millenium, but also creates a new and compelling science fictional universe, similar to what Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl  does for the Harry Potter fandom with "Simon Snow." Mindy is among the pioneers transitioning fandom from print to digital, boldly encountering like-minded individuals from the comfort of her chair behind the monito...

Books with Single-Word Titles

Happy Top Ten Tuesday over at That Artsy Reader Girl! Books with Single-Word Titles These are all my favorite books that I could think of with one-word titles. A lot of fantasy, a few nonfiction (minus subtitles) and Kindred , whether you consider it scifi or historical fiction. Also two portmanteaus using the word "bitter." I suppose it's a word that lends itself to amelioration. 1. Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler 2. Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore 3. Fire by Kristin Cashore 4. Heartless by Marissa Meyer 5. Inheritance by Christopher Paolini 6. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius 7. Stoned by Aja Raden (has a subtitle) 8. Educated by Tara Westover 9. Fledgling by Octavia Butler 10. Kindred by Octavia Butler

The Ten Most Recent Additions to My Book Collection

 Most of the books I buy these days are ebooks, or books I'm technically "renting" (I guess that's the right term?) on Kindle Unlimited. I also get a few ebooks for review, usually from LibraryThing or directly from authors. Mostly I get books from the library, but I also try to buy/preorder from my favorite authors--sometimes ebooks or sometimes an actual book if I don't have a signed copy from that author yet! Here are the most recent books I've either bought or rented (TBR would be a whole other list!). Happy Top Ten Tuesday over at That Artsy Reader Girl! Top Ten Most Recent Additions to My Book Collection Everlasting Spring: 101 Poems for Every Season of Life by Sonya Matejko (Ebook for review from LibraryThing) Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawagachi (Kindle Unlimited) Spark by Allie Lasky (Kindle Unlimited) The Hannukah Hook-Up by Jessica Topper (Kindle Unlimited) Hooked by M.C. Frank (Kindle Unlimited) A Dance of Blood and Destiny by K.R.S. ...