Most of the questions I receive from readers are about their specific financial situations. But occasionally somebody writes with something a little different. Yesterday, for example, Joshua wrote to ask my advice on shopping for books. He wants to know how to find personal finance books for cheap. He writes:
I’m big book fan, mostly financial, entrepreneur, leadership, personal development, etc. Sometimes I buy books off Amazon, but I visit the local library first to see if they have books I want in stock. If they are, I borrow and read them usually within few weeks.
But some books are so good that I want to buy a copy to keep as reference. I just don’t want to pay full price for a book I’ve already read. Do you have any tips on how to find books for low prices? Someone mentioned a library book sale, but I have never seen one. Does they really exist? Can you provide some tips for me?
Yes, Joshua, I can provide some tips for you. If there’s one thing I know about, it’s shopping for books.
I am a biblioholic. I’m a book addict. My love for books contributed to my spending problems in the 1990s. At one time, I spent over $200 a month on books. Now I spend less than $40. When we bought this house in 2004, my friends helped me move over 2500 books in nearly 50 boxes. I mention all of this to establish my credentials as a book geek.
But with my new-found frugality, I’ve learned to feed my book habit without breaking the bank. Here are my top tips for saving money on books of all kinds — but especially personal finance books:
- Library book sales do exist, and they’re a great way to find used books for cheap. If you live in a city with a large public library, find out when they hold their annual book sale. At my library’s sale, I can generally pick up financial and personal development books for a buck or two each. Best of all, I’m able to find odd and unusual books that most bookstores won’t touch, such as Money-Making Hobbies, which cost me $1.50 in 2006.
- Garage sales are an even better way to find used books — but the selection is entirely in the hands of fate. Personal finance and self-help books aren’t big sellers at most yard sales, so you can usually haggle for a better price. Much of my personal development library (Anthony Robbins, Dale Carnegie, etc.) has been built from garage sale finds.
- Perhaps my favorite way to find used books is to browse at local thrift stores. As most of you know, Kris and I embrace the thrift-store ethic, and try to hit the local shops a few times each year. We just made a trip to Goodwill last weekend, in fact, where I picked up copies of Good to Great, Built to Last, Do What You Love and the Money Will Follow, and Earn What You Deserve. Thrift stores are excellent places to find cheap copies of popular bestsellers from Suze Orman, David Bach, and Robert Kiyosaki. Last weekend, I saw three copies of The 4-Hour Workweek, for example.
- Trent from The Simple Dollar is a huge fan of Paperback Swap, but I’ve never used it myself. It seems like too much hassle, and I’m not convinced I’d save money over my current methods. But I know that many people love the site, and I encourage you to try it if you think it might fit your style.
- Finally — and perhaps most obviously — you can sometimes find used book stores that carry personal finance and self-development books at reasonable prices. There’s one such store not far from me, and I try to check their stock once or twice a year to see if anything new has come in.
These tips should help Joshua begin to build a low-cost library of finance and personal-development books. The key is to be patient, and to be open to serendipity. Know the sorts of books you’d like to purchase, and buy them when you see them.
These are the strategies I use to find great deals on books. How do you find cheap books? We’re all fans of the public library, I know, but how do you save money on the books you want to add to your personal library?
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This article is about Ask the Readers, Books, Frugality, Hints and Tips
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I’ve had decent luck at Half.com and Amazon (used books) if I am looking for something specific. Around the start of the school year, half.com usually offers a $5 coupon for signing up for a new account. I sign up, and get some of my friends to sign up for me, and then I have a few different accounts with $5 credits that I can use. And I like Amazon’s used book market since I get Amazon gift cards for free from surveys and search-to-win sites.
The prices at these website are great, sometimes a few pennies a book, but shipping of course is the downside and adds a lot to the cost.
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I blogged a while back about books…mostly about organizing, but also about where to find books on the cheap. http://essentialsimplicity.blogspot.com/2008/10/organized-love-of-books.html
I really like paperbackswap…it’s really the least expensive way to go.
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Library comes first.
Then library book sales (our library has a small area with shelves were books are always for sale).
Next I’ll try Amazon or Powell’s (love Powell’s!).
Last case scenario I’ll go to Barnes and Noble where I get an educator’s discount. I try to plan my purchases for their special educator’s week where I get 25% off.
If you have friends who have PF books it may help to make a little “library” where you share the books in your collection. You can have an email list or yahoogroup to keep track of who has what, etc. We did this with a parenting group and it worked nicely. I got to read a ton of books I wanted to, and lent out books I no longer needed but wasn’t ready to give up yet.
In fact that might be something that could set up with people all over the country a la paperback swap.
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If you have the time, try to get a part-time job at a book store. I worked at Border’s for a while. There was an every day discount of 30%, plus 4 times per year you could get anything for 75% off. Now, I get their newsletter and it usually has a coupon for 40% off a book.
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I ADORE PBS. It is VERY user friendly & love that I have wishlists and it’s like Christmas when I get a book I’ve been waiting on. I spend about $3 per book & have received some very expensive books (hardbacks, new) & usually pass them along when I’m done. It takes me about 2 min to print out the label & wrap up the book, with the address and postage already printed on the wrapper.
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My wife and I use (and highly recommend) Swaptree.com.
Basically you make a list of books you have that you’d be happy to trade, and a list of books you want. Then it automatically pairs people up for trades.
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I’m a student so sometimes the books I’m looking for can be ridiculously priced from the Campus bookstore or mainstream booksellers.
I really like abeBooks.com. They have lots of out of print and unusual books at decent prices since it’s a global used books resellers website. Just watch where your book is coming from and how much the shipping is and you can sometimes make out like a bandit. They often times will have brand new books for sale at really decent prices.
Other great resources for students are to check out the area around the campus. Inevitably there will be one used book store that’s full of campus textbooks and resources. If you’re lucky your area will have a used book store dedicated solely to University/college books.
If you’re using the Library, check and see if they have reciprocal loaning or inter-library loan resources. It’s a really great thing for University Library’s and I know if you ask the regular public library they have some agreements with local colleges/Universities or institutions further afield. It never hurts to chat up your librarian.
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I’ve started looking at the $1 rack at Half Price Books – half my weekly purchases come from there. Need to ask how they choose books for back there, but I’ve been just as happy with the ones from the $1 rack as the half price ones.
I also just read an ok book on how to buy books, sell them for higher prices, and fund your book habit. The book is “Book Finds” and basically advises that you know a field, scour the sources listed in the post and find deals that you sell/trade elsewhere for more money. His rule of thumb is never buy a book that you won’t read & can make 3x for elsewhere. He’s very big on trading in books to places like Half Price b/c then you can buy a book at a thrift store for $2 (HB — they just went up on prices), trade it in for more than the cash value and buy a book you would have paid cash for. It’s a fun hobby if you know book prices, care to sell books, and hate passing up a book that you already own that’s in great condition.
One last surprising place? Antique stores — they don’t care about recent books, but often get estates so have recent books. Prices tend to be comparable to thrift stores in my local area.
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Every year the school down the road has a used book sale. The entire gym is filled with tables full of books. Last year we left with over 40 books for under $40.
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Half.com has worked for me, too. Even with the shipping costs, I usually pay around $5 total – still better than paying full price!
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Bookmooch.com is excellent. It lets you create a wishlist and e-mails you when books are available. Also, while the public library is great, sometimes it doesn’t have a great selection. This might be particularly true for people who don’t live in major metropolitan areas. College or university libraries sometimes offer reading cards, though, and in some places you can go in and read for free. Many offer check out privileges for a fee, which may or may not be worth it – just depends on the school. It’s usually a better deal for alumni.
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The Boston Public Library has a portal that allows access to Safari Books Online ( http://ezproxy.bpl.org/login?url=http://proquest.safaribooksonline.com http://www.safaribooksonline.com/Corporate/Index/). It has limited functionality (e.g. no “bookshelf”) and slightly limited selection compared to the regular Safari, but it is free. A great resource for tech books.
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Friends have recommended Bookmooch and Paperback Swap to me, but I haven’t tried them yet.
Two other ideas:
1. Throw a book swap and potluck with friends and/or neighbors. It’s the same idea as holding a clothing swap or (as you just highlighted) a plant swap, but for bibliophiles.
2. If you’re on Facebook, make a photo album of books you’re willing to swap, and also let friends know which books you’d like to read. You may be “friends” with someone who has what you’re looking for and will be willing to pass it on.
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I’m a grad student and most of the books I need aren’t at the normal cheap locations. I’ve found bookfinder.com to be invaluable – it scours the internet book sites to find the cheapest used and new copies. I know most people don’t need those obscure books, but if you really can’t find something, it will find it.
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in baltimore we’re lucky enough to have the book thing: http://www.bookthing.org/ it’s a big room filled with tons and tons of books, all completely free for the taking. they only sell 0.02% of the books they receive to cover overhead and expenses. it rocks!
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Amazon, Amazon, Amazon. I am a bookseller there and actually have a bargain bin, $2.01 for dozens of books there (the recent postal rate increase has destroyed my $1 section.) When you buy multiple items from a seller, ask if they can ship them together and give you a break on shipping. Many times they will be thrilled to do that!
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The last day of library book sales are a goldmine, as oftentimes they’ll do a “Fill a Bag for $_” promotion. I’ve gotten 15-20 books for $5 total that way.
I also highly recommend Bookmooch.com for all the reasons cited above. The only cost is your postage for books you give away. I get extra books at the “Fill a Bag” sales specifically to giveaway on Bookmooch.
Lastly, most libraries have interlibrary loan programs, so if your local institution doesn’t have it, they can often find the book for you at another regional library.
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My favorite is to actually not by books. Simply get the audio version for FREE from your public library. Its amazing how many books they have for free. Then you just need an mp3 player and you’re all set to take advantage of your time sitting on buses, trains or in your car. With the average commute sometime around 90 minutes per day you can easily knock out a couple books a month without even trying!
For those of you concerned about me never buying books; my strategy is to then buy the books I think I may want to read in the future and therefore have a part of my collection. Owning every book you have ever read is more like a trophy than something that is practical. Think of the Kindle – pretty soon walls and walls of books will be stored in a sliver of media.
For other cost saving tips like the one’s above, check out my post at: http://www.twentysomethingsense.com/category/spend-smart
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I really like HamiltonBook.com (online sales) and sister company Edward R. Hamilton (mail order only). They have excellent bargains on new books.
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I really like HamiltonBook.com (online sales) and sister company Edward R. Hamilton (mail order only). They have excellent bargains on new books.
Sorry… forgot to say great post – can’t wait to read your next one!
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A couple of things:
Go to Amazon and put the books you want on your wishlist. Then you can monitor this list and see when the used book prices for these titles fall. If you’re willing to wait (and look at your list regularly), you can get some good deals this way.
Also, don’t forget http://www.daedalusbooks.com for fantastic deals on remainders.
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My favourite is abebooks.com; I can find most books for a dollar plus shipping.
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Even if you don’t have books you want to trade, still consider Paperback Swap (http://www.paperbackswap.com). If you find the book you want, you can buy a credit for $3.45, request that book from the trader, and they ship it to you at their cost. I’ve been using this method to complete my collection of those beloved books that I know I’ll read over and over again. It’s even cheaper than Half.com and there are many current books, even hardcovers. You can also put requests on your wish list and you’ll be notified when the book becomes available or you move up to the top of the queue.
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This is what I try to do: Try not to buy books because I want to read them. Buy fiction only when I have already read the book and know that I love it so much I will want to reread it several times. Buy non-fiction only when it is the sort of book that will serve as a useful reference, not the kind of book I will read through once. (For example, I will buy certain cookbooks, dictionary of knitting stitches, book of household repairs, but not a book of history or a biography.) Everything else I read from the library (public or university). If they don’t have it, I fill out the “suggest a purchase” form if it’s a recent book, or ask for it through interlibrary loan if it’s an older book.
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I’m another fan of Swaptree.com. I just started up there about a month ago and I already love it. You only pay for shipping out your book (and you get one in return), so every book you get costs about $2.00-3.00.
So far I’ve enjoyed it. It’s been very simple and easy to get books I’ve been wanting for months. Since I don’t have a very good local library, this is a great option for me.
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If you live in a town with a university or college, they have annual sales as well, too. Not all of the books being sold were textbooks. When I was in college I found lots of books to use for reference
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Books are my drug. I need them. However, my to-read shelf is swelling– not a lot of brain right now, heading to the Nora Roberts section of the library a lot– and I keep buying books I don’t want to read right now.
It comes from knowing that the first month’s sales can really affect a writer’s future, and having a lot of friends who write.
So. I don’t have hard and fast rules about which books I buy. I’m not willing to buy full-price hardcover from people I haven’t met. If the book’s by a friend and I think I’ll like it, it’s mine mine mine, even if it’s hardcover. I have subscriptions to magazines I like (must renew one of them, I think) and read a fair amount of fiction online.
Granted, this works for the basic get words into me function, with added friends get to eat and I like what my friends write. It’s not so great as a money saver.
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For most popular books, I just get them from the library. If I were to buy all the books I read, then I’d have to buy another house since I am truly a biblioholic. For books on more esoteric topics or that I might need or want to read again, I generally try to get them used off of Amazon. Our local library has a basement facility where volunteers manage and sell book donations as well as books no longer wanted by the library, plus cds and videos/dvds and audio books. They are very inexpensive but it is hit or miss whether you will find what you need there. EXCEPT for the classics that are frequently required reading for high school and are usually $1 or less. For my kids college textbooks, I will frequently order them on Amazon since they are much cheaper there than in the bookstores. I also sell them on Amazon since what the school’s bookstores will give them at the end of the semester is so little it should be considered highway robbery.
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The local library was selling books (hard and soft cover) by $1 a bag. You fill the bag (plastic shopping bag supplied) with the books you want and they charge you $1 and no tax. It’s a once a year sale and you need to get there early.
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I’ve gone to getting all my info online. Blogs have replaced most books as I get the quick and dirty synopsis on anything they review. And there’s only so many ideas that work. The reason that all financial blogs/books/magazines all boil down to “spend less than you earn” is because it’s the basic tenant of personal finance. You don’t need to read a book cover to cover to get that when you can subscribe to a handful of blogs that can give you daily ideas on how to achieve that. I also like getting those daily inspirations instead of one lump of info from a book. Instead of spending money on craft, personal finance, home decorating and technology books or magazines, I just open google reader and see tons and tons of posts featuring products, tips, hints, projects, information and all around good stuff. I get much, much more information through my blog reader than I could pay for through hard copies. I also get my favorite comics. All of this delivered, the moment it is published, to my reader for me to peruse at my leisure.
If something does intrigue me, then I see if I can interlibrary loan it from my local small town library. There is one thing that online cannot replace for me and that is reading a book. Online is good for articles, but not a whole book. It cannot replace the feel in my hands.
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I’m glad to see someone else mention abebooks.com. Excellent choice. Here are a couple other tips from a former bookseller and current librarian.
1. If your local public library doesn’t have the book you want, ask about getting it from another library. Interlibrary loan often only takes a day or so – depending on availability.
2. Use http://www.worldcat.org to check for your book in libraries in your area. Call the library with your book to check their lending policies if it is not your local public library.
3. To buy new business, management and personal finance books, try http://800ceoread.com/. They specialize in business books and really know their stuff.
Happy reading!
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If your goal is purely to read a particular book (and not keep it forever) I like to buy my books used off of amazon.com and then resell them on amazon when I’m done. It typically ends up costing me about 2 dollars or so to read each book.
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Well I am pretty new in this but recently join a free public library. They are a group of 40 connected libraries so almost all of the well-known books are available at one or the other. Their sale is almost worth looking for.
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First of all, check out used book aggregate sites: http://www.addall.com lets you check prices for books; I’m also a big fan of http://www.abebooks.com. Better World Books, which retails through ABEbooks, sells used library copies. (Watch out, though; when you buy, you will see that books are cheap but the shipping is $4 per item, which can add up!)
Look around your local area, as well as using Googlemaps, etc. for used book stores. Often a used bookstore can tell you whether they they have an item in stock over the phone to save you a trip.
Also, there are discount bookstores out there that take remainders; those are not as common but keep your eyes open.
Check with your local public libraries to find out when their booksales are; the info is usually posted on their websites, also. http://www.booksalefinder.com is another way to find Library Booksales.
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eBay is another good place to buy books that I don’t believe has been mentioned. Obviously, nothing beats the library.
The read and return program at the airport is a decent way to buy books when you’re on the run.
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Get almost any book for free! Interlibrary loan is fantastic. The library will find your book if they don’t already have it and you can pick it up. What could be better? Why accumulate thousands of books when you can read any one you want to, don’t have to store or dust them, and it’s free! I have to admit we have many, many books, too, but I’m trying to do better.
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Those are great suggestions! I also recommend checking comparison sites such as Affordabook to find cheap copies online. For textbooks, I have some suggestions in my blog post “How to Save Money on Textbooks” at http://independentbeginnings.com/2009/02/how-to-save-money-on-textbooks/
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http://www.paperbackswap.com
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I love PaperbackSwap and have used it for several years now. It lets me get rid of books that I don’t need anymore and I can either keep or reswap the ones I get. There’s also a nice little tally on the site that keeps track of roughly how much you’ve saved.
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I just found out about abebooks.com a couple months ago – very low prices. You can also sell them your books and they’ll pay for the shipping costs.
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I’m going to go out on a limb here and say there are worse things than paying retail for a book. If a novel takes, say, 20 hours to read, than you’re paying $1.75 per hour for a $35 hardcover. You probably pay much more for television (if you have cable)/Netflix/even a matinee. And books, unlike those other things, are an investment in your health. Reading helps relieve stress and can help stave off dementia and memory loss. AND unlike film, publishing is in a real crisis, mostly because people want to purchase copies for five bucks.
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In the past, I’ve used alibris.com, but as I’m Canadian and it’s American, shipping and exchange rates really eat into the savings.
If I’m on the hunt for a book but in no hurry, I put in a request at my favourite local used bookshop. They have an online catalog which makes it easy to browse for books and submit a request online.
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BOOKCROSSING ( http://www.bookcrossing.com/ ) fulfils this need for me. You can acquire as many books as you like, request specific books, share your thoughts and recommendations with other booklovers, offload all those books you no longer want (mimimising clutter at home) and make friends all over the world in the process – all for FREE ! It’s great – and I urge everyone to check it out.
I spend next to nothing on books now – and yet have never read so much (and across a much broader range too). Libraries are valuable of course – but Bookcrossing is more social, interactive, fun and less-pressured (there are no fines!)… and has broadened my range of friends and interests immeasureably.
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Don’t forget the ILL system (Inter Library Loan) from your
local library .
If they don’t have the particular book your are looking for and another library does, you can ask your local to put in a request for that book and have it send over there.
It’s not free but usually the fee is peanuts compared to the original price.
Works for foreign libraries too.
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If you join your public library’s Friends of the Library group, not only will you be able to help keep your library healthy, but you can volunteer to help set up the book sale. That way, you can often get first crack at selecting the books you want to buy when it opens.
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http://www.bookcloseouts.com/
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http://www.bookins.com/
a friend of mine recently sent me this site – you trade books online. it’s a great setup. as the site says ” It’s like trading at a local used bookstore, without the grumpy desk-clerk!” (and they have used DVDs too!)
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My problem is that new books receive the most publicity when they first come out and by the time they become available at the library or in softcover forms I have forgotten about them. My solution is to add new books to my Amazon wishlist and every couple of months see what is available at the library. That way I don’t ever feel like I’m depriving myself, I’m just a couple of months behind. I do the same thing with new release movies and my netflix queue.
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Used book stores, on-line used book sources, book swaps, libraries – all are great, frugal options. But in this example, I think the letter writer isn’t looking to be frugal, but cheap. He says, “But some books are so good that I want to buy a copy to keep as reference. I just don’t want to pay full price for a book I’ve already read.” If the book is that good, he shouldn’t be cheap but instead should buy the book new and make sure the author gets his/her royalty. To paraphrase Robert Heinlein, appreciation is best shown with folding green paper.
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Great post. I also tend to hit garage sales alot. When you read as much as I do, the savings by getting them at garage sales is significant. I recently wrote a post about how to find free books, which are my favorite kind. Maybe some of your readers would be interested.
http://www.thebookwormblog.com/2009/04/3-ways-to-feed-your-gasp-book-addiction/
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