How to maintain a book habit, but not break the bank

I am addicted to books. I love to read, and I love books....the smell of the paper, the pretty cover art, the wonderful stories.

I want all the books. All.the.books.

Unfortuntely, I can't have all the books. Not only do I not have space to shelve them, but I can't afford to buy every book that catches my fancy.

However, I can read pretty much read any book I want to, within reason (no 700 year old tomes stored in controlled environments in Italy, although that would be cool), without bankrupting myself.

I'm learning how to feed my book addiction while still controlling how much I spend.

Here are my tips for bibliophiles on a budget:

1. Use your local library. If they don't have the book you want on the shelf, they can borrow from another library using inter-library loan, or there are digital access sites where you can check out ebooks or audio books using your library card number. OverDrive is an app and website you can use to access digital ebooks and audio books using your phone, tablet or computer. Also, OpenLibrary has many books scanned for borrowing as well. I can use my phone to put a hold on library books I want, renew books, or make lists of books I want to check out later. Bibliophile nirvana! Your local library will have a list of digital sites they offer access to -- browse and enjoy!

Most libraries also have book sales at least once a year. The sales are a great place to get used books on the cheap! Sometimes also DVDs, CDs and audio books as well! (And, for those of us who have bookshelves overfull from too many books....most libraries will also take book donations for these sales. If you have unwanted books hanging around, donate them to your local library and let them use the proceeds to buy new books!)

2. Utilize free and discounted ebooks from online booksellers. Barnes and Noble online has many free or low cost books available for Nook. I have a Kindle, so I use Amazon a lot. There are many free books and thousands more available at low cost. Some are just 99 cents! I purchased a subscription to KindleUnlimited as well, allowing me to borrow books for free and return them when I'm done for $9.95 a month. While that might seem like a high price, I use it all the time, which justifies the cost for me. Let's say I read 5 books through Amazon a month. The average cost for buying a paperback book is $10, so I'm saving $40 by reading them online and giving them back. There are more online booksellers that offer cheap or free ebooks. Google it and see what awesome links you find!

Project Gutenberg offers 51,000+ free ebooks on their website. Most are free domain classics that are no longer under copyright. PG also lists links to about 100,000 more ebooks from affiliates on their website. Dickens, Poe, Alcott, Lewis, etc.....many, many fabulous authors' works are available from these websites. Free. Absolutely no cost. You can volunteer to help proofread or record audio books for Project Gutenberg. Links to volunteer are on the homepage of their website.

3. Trade used books online. Many people trade books on Twitter using hashtags. I've been trading books online for 9 years using PaperBackSwap. You list your books that you have available by ISBN # and other members can request them. Once requested you mail the book out. When the book is received, you get a credit to order a book through the site. Then you can search for a particular book that you want and order it from another member's online bookshelf. You can also buy credits to use on the site if you choose. The site is easy to use. I've gotten hundreds of used books using this site over the years and had very few problems. When I finish books, I list them at paperbackswap and trade them for other books I want to read. Easy peasy. Postage costs to send out a book by media mail range from $1-3, so it's a cheap way to get books I'm looking for.

4. Used book shops, thriftstores, yard sales, etc.  There are many places to find all sorts of used books. Garage sales, junk shops, thriftstores, flea markets, consignment stores....there are used books everywhere! Right now I am avoiding looking at too many of these places, as I'm a "Read My Own Damn Books'' warrior this year. My shelves are crammed full and I have to read what I already own!! No room for more! But, my shelves got overfull because I used this very avenue for finding inexpensive books. Find cheap books....read them.....then donate them back, or give them to friends. Feed others' book addictions! An intellectual pass-it-forward! :)

5. Wholesale/closeout/salvage/discount shops. These stores buy stock from damaged freight, bankruptcies, unsold merchandise, etc. They are great places to find books at discount prices. We have a shop called Ollie's in our little town. They have a huge section of books in almost every genre. Great prices!

I'm sure there are other great ways to feed a book addiction and still be able to pay your bills. :) If you have a suggestion to share, please comment! :)

And, while cheap and inexpensive used books are awesome and keep us Bibliophiles very happy....please also support your local indy bookshop! I make sure to buy a couple books or bookish items from the closest one each month, just to make sure I support the people who bring author events to this area and writer's meetings, etc.

With smart choices, we book addicts can keep well stocked bookshelves, support local area business and keep a healthy budget for other things all at the same time!

Happy reading!

My 2016 Book Diet

I am on a new book diet. There are so many unread books on my shelves that I am severely limiting the number of new books I can have. Gifts are ok...those don't count as cheating. And, I can have up to 4 books a month as long as I have weeded out more than that number from my shelves during the month. That's a book diet, without it being a crash, starvation, bookishly unhealthy one.

I showed great restraint tonight. I am proud of myself.

I spent an hour in Barnes & Noble browsing. And I bought.....a large coffee.

Thousands of books. And my purchase was a large skinny mocha with 2 shots of espresso.

I saw several books I want to read...but I added them to my check-out list on my library app. I will borrow them instead of buying them. I can connect to my local library, look up available books & put them on hold right on my phone. If they don't have the book, I have two other websites that allow me to check out ebooks using my library card #. That really cuts down on my impulse buys. Those impulses have turned to adding titles to a list on my library account instead.

I'm learning!

I have bought one book so far this month.  I loaned out my favorite sci-fi book a few months ago to someone....I remember loaning it, but not who I gave it to. If the person was going to return it, I would have had it back already. I wanted to read it again. So, I bought a new copy. "Lucifer's Hammer" is back on my sci-fi shelf. As soon as I finish what I'm currently reading, I am going to read it and "The Hammer of God" again. Both great books! Lucifer's Hammer was not available from my local library, and not available for borrowing from either of the online options. I couldn't find a used copy. So, at that point, I felt justified in buying one. I loved my 20 year old paperback, but a new copy is great too. The old copy was about to fall apart anyway.

I didn't buy any new books in February for myself at all. I was gifted a copy of Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2) by my lovely otspsecretsister. The rest of my bookish endeavors for the month were library and TBR books.

It's working! My goal is to read and trade/donate/give away books this year to free up enough shelf space for my library to be better organized. Right now, I have so many that my floor to ceiling shelves are stacked to the brim, with books squeezed in wherever they will fit. I can't find anything. It is a disorganized mess, rather than a beautiful display of my most prized possessions.

In the past two months I have purchased one book, and I was gifted one. I have listed 4 books for trade online, and given away 3 more. So, 2 have come in.....and 7 are going out. :) I have checked out 23 books from the library instead of buying them.

I'm making progress! Yay!!

REVIEW: Something Strange and Deadly

The dead are rising from their graves in Philadelphia. When a zombie delivers a letter from her missing brother, Eleanor Fitt knows she has more to worry about than her family's declining finances. The dead are attacking, and life will never be the same. Miss Fitt will have to become a misfit and join the Spirit-Hunters to battle the walking dead.

Yeah, I said it. Walking dead. ;)

This book was amazing! I love zombie tales! And this one had enough steampunk-y goodness mixed in to make it quite an action packed romp, spiced with a few stolen kisses and funny parts too. Well-written, interesting and dark. Great read! There were a couple rough patches....I had the twist figured out by chapter 3. And some of the dialogue between characters was strange. For example at one point, the Chinese character tells Eleanor that girls in China have their heads shaved until they are old enough to bind their feet. Not true. The line was enough to make me pause reading and do some fact checking....but it didn't ruin the story for me. I did get the shock of accidentally loading some weird head shaving erotica....ah, the magic of the internet. lol.

This book totally makes up for the fact I hated Truthwitch and didn't finish reading it. I'm going to stick with this series, and leave the threads and truthwitches to their own devices.

There are two more books in this series: A Darkness Strange and Lovely and Strange and Ever After. Definitely going to keep reading!

My Rating: 8/10
Ages 14+

Review: Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror

Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror
Author: Chris Priestley
Ebook version, 240 pages
Middle Grade, horror short stories

Edgar's Uncle Montague lives in a big, dark house all alone. The boy likes to walk through the woods to his uncle's house to hear his stories, even if the tales are a bit unsettling. During this visit, Edgar's uncle tells him 10 stories, with the best and most frightening saved for last, of course. Each story is dark and creepily told, and woven in and around descriptions of Uncle Montague's house and its secrets. From trees that should never be climbed to evil picture frames, each story is intriguing and unique.

I loved this book! The stories are well written, and creepy-cool. Written for middle-grade age children, the content was age-appropriate but still interesting and enjoyable for adults, too. Priestley is an excellent storyteller, weaving his crafty, creepy tales with precision. I loved how he wove the stories in between snippets of conversation between Uncle Montague and Edgar or descriptions of the Uncle's weird creepy house.

All in all, a fun read. I would recommend it for any middle-grade child who likes ghost stories or scary tales.

My Rating: 8/10
Ages 10+

Has the world become utterly chaotic or did I just never notice?

This morning, I sat down at my desk with my coffee and logged on to read the day's news.

Immediately I wished I hadn't.

The main headlines were horrific. Russian woman beheads child in her care. Babysitter kills infant. Father indicted in death of children. Mother throws autistic child off bridge. Young mother arrested for killing of 6-month old infant. And those are only a few of the horrible deaths of children reported.

What the hell???

Has the world always been such a violent, dangerous, horrible place?? Or have I led such a sheltered life that I never knew that children are murdered every day by those they should be able to trust?

Are divorcing parents so unable to be adults and SHARE their children with their ex-spouse, that killing them in revenge seems a good idea??

Is help for some exhausted parents so unavailable that one woman thought the best solution was to throw her disabled child off a bridge? The woman even did internet searches to find out how high the bridge had to be to kill the child.

Oh. My. God.

If you are a single parent, divorced parent, or the parent of a special needs child and you find yourself overwhelmed...PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE ask for help. You don't have to contact social services. Call a church or synagogue, contact a school counselor and ask about area services, contact your local health department or hospital and ask about mental health services or support groups. Don't let things get so far out of control that you kill or harm your children!!! There is help out there!

My first marriage ended in divorce. And it was rough. I was stressed and lonely most of the time. I remember feeling overwhelmed, but it never got so far out of hand that I even thought of harming my son. But, I can see how some people lose control. We are all human. As parents, we make mistakes. And every human being has limits to what they can handle. A person who is past their stress limit can make bad decisions they wouldn't normally even consider. There are local services to help those who reach that limit. If you find yourself having violent thoughts because you are angry with your ex-spouse, please ask for help. Grief, pain of loss and upheaval in life can cause normally stable people to have a mental break. If you find yourself having thoughts that might put them in danger, ask for help before you harm your children.

I do sympathize with those who have children who require 24/7 attention and care. I can comprehend how stressful, tiring and emotionally exhausting that must be. ASK FOR HELP. Find a respite care program and get a break once in awhile. Find a parent support group, or even an online forum, to talk to other parents of children with similar issues. There are grief and loss groups to help people get through a divorce and the aftermath. Don't let your feelings and emotions get out of control. There are others out there dealing with the same issues. Use the internet to get help -- not to research how to throw your child off a bridge.

Be very, very cautious who you hire to watch your children. Online hiring services for nannies and babysitting care can be attractive because it's simple and easier than going through the hiring process yourself. But, it's not necessarily safe. I knew a woman who was completely unbalanced. We met her through mutual friends, and she would come to our house to join in game nights, holiday parties, etc. We watched her son while she worked sometimes. After a few months, her behavior became so completely mental that I had to tell her she was no longer welcome in my home.  Months later, I happened to see an ad online....she had placed a resume with a care service to provide elder care and babysitting services. All of the facts and background she listed on her online resume were made up -- she listed medical experience and certifications I knew she didn't have. I called the agency immediately and asked if they realized everything on this woman's online resume was a lie.   Don't hire babysitting care for your children (or your elderly parents) online without doing an extensive background and reference check YOURSELF on ANYONE you bring into your home for babysitting or daycare!!!  Online services might say they check on their staff, but obviously sometimes they don't.

I'm 47 years old and I have just now realized how sheltered a life I have lived. I can't say I don't live in a world where babysitters behead children, or women throw their kids off bridges, because I do. I feel ashamed that I never noticed how often parents lose control and harm their kids. I have to do something. I can't just sit here and pass judgement, or say this won't happen in my neighborhood. I have a responsibility to do something, even if this never happens to anybody I know. I'm going to do some checking in my local area and find out what services there are to help local parents. I'm going to be sure that the groups I'm involved with have that information on hand to help parents that reach the end of their rope. And I'm going to research and write up a brochure with information on how to investigate child or elder care providers.

It's a small drop in the bucket, but at least I don't have my head buried in the sand anymore.

School Fundraisers -- hate 'em!

Several times a year my son's school sends home information on fundraisers either for the school or various charities.

I don't like it.

I remember those horrid door-to-door fundraisers I had to do for school back in the day. Sponsorships for Readathons. Walk-A-Thon donations. Huge cardboard suitcases filled with cheapo gift items. Wrapping paper. Overpriced candy and popcorn. Greeting cards. Magazines. All through school I was always being forced to sell something, or raise money for some organization.  I hated it. And my parents hated it.

I only allow my son to do one fundraiser during the year. For the rest, I send a polite note saying my son will not be participating.

For his one fundraiser this year,  my son is selling candy bars for the local PTO. I don't like it, but I know it helps him overcome his shyness. It helps him learn to talk to people and use good manners. Plus he has the responsibility to collect the money and turn it in. But....he is only doing it ONCE. Not ten times during the school year. One time. Period.

My son and I will spend the next two weeks walking around town in the evening selling candy bars. I don't allow him to go by himself, not even in our own quiet neighborhood. It's not safe. That's the main reason I don't like kids doing door-to-door fundraising. I know not every parent accompanies their child....and it just isn't safe for a grade school kid to walk around by themselves with a box full of candy or whatever and an envelope full of cash.  I follow my kid around like a pit bull...and I carry the money. Let's see somebody try to do anything to my son. I would fold them into a pretzel and kick them into outer space off the end of my boot. But, not every kid has a guard-mom walking with them. It just isn't safe to send kids out door-to-door.

I also don't like raising money for non-local charities. National organization have so many other ways to raise funds. They don't need to be sending school children out begging for donations. If they spent less money on printing full color fundraising catalogs for schools, buying merchandise for kids to sell, and providing the prizes they use to bribe the kids into going door-to-door selling & collecting, these charities would have a lot more cash to use for actual charity work, right? Seems to me they are spending millions of dollars to send school kids across the nation out fundraising that should actually be used to fund their charity work. And, who knows what percentage of donations are going to administration and what part actually goes into research or charity work?

I would much rather my son collect canned food for the local food bank, or donations for the county hospice program or local homeless shelters. That money would directly benefit people right here, instead of covering overhead for some huge national charity.

I don't like fundraising events that benefit the school either. How much of this money does the school actually get to keep? When you factor in the cost of the items they are selling, or the overhead for color catalogs, order forms, prizes and the percentage the fundraising company takes......how much is left? Wouldn't it be better to just ask for donations? Are cash donations to schools tax deductible? I'd donate a bit each year and add it to my charitable contributions for the year, if I could. I'd rather do that than have my son out selling wrapping paper for $12, with the school only getting a percentage of the profit.

Just a bit of a vent. I am not joyful about walking around town in February hocking candy.

I'm not even sure why the PTO is raising money. Sigh.

I can't have sugar, so I can't even drown my sorrows with chocolate by buying a candy bar from my son. I can't eat the damn things.

REVIEW: Lending a Paw

Lending a Paw (A Bookmobile Cat Mystery)
Author: Laurie Cass
Publisher: Penguin/Random House
344 pages
Cozy Mystery

Yes, another cat cozy mystery!  I'm seriously addicted! This time, I was pulled in by the mix of books and a cat. What's not to love?

Minerva Hamilton, known as Minnie, is a librarian in Chilson, Michigan. She lives on a houseboat with her rescue cat, Eddie. Minnie is excited about driving the library's new Bookmobile, but on the first day, she finds the body of a local businessman and philanthropist behind a rural farmhouse. In fact, the dead man gave the library the funds to purchase the Bookmobile. Minnie Eddie are on the case! Who killed the library's main benefactor? And, will they decide to take out Minnie too because she's asking questions?

I enjoyed this book! The main character is likeable, and the story wasn't the same old formula where the girl is smitten with a local cop investigating the murder. In fact, Minnie spent more time annoyed at the local police.

The one problem I had was this:  Eddie went with Minnie inside the Bookmobile every Saturday. The author mentioned a list of items she took on the bookmobile for Eddie: food, water, blankets, toys....but never was it mentioned that Minnie brought a LITTERBOX.  Now, Eddie can't have gone along on Bookmobile days and never had to relieve himself.  The main character kept saying how concerned she was that her boss would find out that Eddie had been on the Bookmobile truck.....and she described bringing his supplies and cleaning up the cat hair afterwards.  But where was Eddie going potty on these all day trips?? As a cat owner and booklover, the fact that she never mentioned stowing a cat box inside a cupboard or something when everything other cat supply brought for Eddie was outlined in detail.....well, it bugged me a bit.  Either Eddie was wee-weeing in a corner somewhere.....or a little detail was left out. :) Not a huge glaring error.....but it did pull me out of the story several times when I had to wonder why the author listed all this Eddie gear, but never mentioned having to bring along cat litter, or a cat box, or having to clean up spilled litter etc after Bookmobile days. If she hadn't gone into detail about vacuuming up cat hair, or the other Eddie-related stuff she had to bring on the truck, I wouldn't have noticed the lack of kitty commode.

But, the question of Eddie's bathroom habits didn't ruin the story for me. This was a great, easy cozy read. I love reading these kitschy cozy mysteries in the wintertime when it's too cold to be outdoors most of the time. Quick, light reads. :)

My rating: 7/10
Ages 10+