Lady Reads-A-Lot

I’m a big reader. I’ll read just about anything, as long as it has words in it. If you can’t take my word for it, maybe you’ll believe my nightshirt. (It says “She Who Reads).

Now that we have references out of the way, let’s get on with it. Since I was a little tyke I’ve been a dedicated library patron. My first library was a little storefront operation called Live Oak Library. It was right next door to a bar, and for all I know that bar is still there. And if you think about it, that is a pretty good place for a library to be.

Live Oak Library is still in business, actually, and if you went there today you would be amazed at how tiny it is. But it is the mouse that roared! My parents didn’t have tons of money to waste on keeping us kids entertained (I never, ever saw a movie in a theater until I was six years old, and that was a drive-in. That was ‘Jaws’ - scary), and Live Oak Library was our family’s very favorite frugal recreational outlet. Besides the books, they offered great summer reading programs, free films, and simple but fun activities.

But even with all this fun stuff on offer, my favorite was always the books. And to this day I am still a very dedicated library patron. The library I visit now is quite a bit different than little ol’ Live Oak, though. It is high tech to the nth degree, stylishly decorated, and even houses various community gathering rooms. Oh, and it is huge; no doubt it would be possible to fit 20 Live Oak’s into this library.

But as a true bibliophile it is a sad truth that even this ginormous library just isn’t enough to satisfy my book habit. I still like to buy books, and I do buy a lot. Now how can I possibly justify this from a frugal standpoint? Well, to me books are more along the lines of a necessity. Food, water, shelter, books - that’s about how it plays out for me.

Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean that I don’t find excellent bargains in order to support my habit. There are LOTS of places to get great deals on used books -yard sales, thrift stores, and even libraries-most have book sales where one can pick up excellent deals.

Out here in Texas we have a great chain that sells used, and some new, books. It is the Half-Price Book Store. They sell books for 1/2 off the cover price. Sometimes this can turn out to be an enormous bargain, especially when you find a very old edition of a book you want. As I type this, there is sitting on my end table right next to me a book like this. It was published in 1966, with a cover price of .50, so I got it for .25. 42 years later, this book is still in pretty good shape. Sure, it’s a little brown around the edges, but just think! This is a 42 YEAR OLD PAPERBACK. It still exists, and it is still making people (me) happy.

One way I get new books for free is by using my credit card every chance I get. I have an Amazon.com credit card, and I use it to charge lots of things I would buy in any case. This credit card gives you points back for every purchase you make, and these points can eventually be redeemed at Amazon.com to buy more books. It is amazing how quickly the points can add up, even living frugally. (Of course, I pay this card off every month).

National Book Week falls on the first or second week of April. Since my sister is a librarian, she attends the annual Library Breakfast that her library puts on to celebrate this worthy event. Every year a guest speaker, (an author), is featured. My nice sis usually picks up one of their books for me and sends it to me for my birthday, which is in late April. And guess what?! - they are always autographed! Over the years, I have picked up quite a nice collection of these gems. This year’s speaker was Mr. Stephen J. Cannell, mystery writer and television powerhouse extraordinaire. His mystery was very good, and best of all he signed it “Happy Birthday, Tess.” It doesn’t get much better than that for a die-hard book-lover. Also, my sister always gives me the inside scoop on these authors, which is very interesting. I like it when authors turn out to be nice people (like Mr. Cannell is).

Since it is no secret that I like books, family and friends will often give me bookstore giftcards for my birthday and Christmas. My husband will do this a lot, too. In fact, if there isn’t a bookstore gift card in my stocking on Christmas morning, he is sure to receive the gimlet eye, which is my right eye scrunched up and and my left eye-brow raised evilly. This is very hard to do, so I reserve it for only the most dire occasions.

On my most recent birthday my brother sent me a $75.00 gift card for Half-Price Books. Thanks, Big Brother. I will make this last a long time. My brother is as book-mad as I am, and he is very envious of my access to Half-Price Books (he lives in Southern California, no 1/2 Price Books). This weekend I spent some time there and was able to pick up some great mysteries for .50 each. This should keep me happy for a few days. This is what a few days of happiness looks like:

Amazingly, people will often just give me books. People really hate to throw out books, so they are happy to give them to someone who they know is truly book-mad. And sometimes, people will act as my book “agents” - they may hear that someone wants to get rid of books and they will snap them up for me. My sister just sent me three great books that she got from a third party who was looking to find a good home for them.

Sometimes, though, there is a brand-new book out there that I just must have, and I have no choice but to pay full price. Well, here is yet another reason why it is smart to live the Frugal life-style. I just throw Caution to the winds, and go ahead and buy that book! Yes, I do! I can do it without any soul-searching whatsoever because I know I have the resources to do it, thanks to Frugality.

So, maybe you’re not crazy about books, but whatever it is that fetches your fancy, it’s worth finding how how to frugally feed your habit. You’ll feel great on two-fronts: you get something you really want, and at a great price. Nothing wrong with that!

P.S. Please let me know if you know of any great sources for free/cheap books, Dear Readers.  I’m always on the lookout to, frugally, add to my personal library.