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Reading – A cheap hobby or an expensive one?

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

Reading – a hobby that we can all enjoy pretty much anywhere.  Something that lets us indulge in many passions and experiences just by delving into the pages of a book, and we can be swept off to a palace full of dancing or an island with palm trees, or even up amongst the stars.  I am an avid reader, I have a wall of books at home in my study, and you know I once sat and worked out how much my reading habit would cost me if I bought all the books I read new – trust me, it was an absolute fortune!

I’m lucky though, I have an excellent library here in Milton Keynes where I can borrow books for free, and even CD’s and films as well.  There are various other ways you can read cheaply too though.  For example, you could raid your friends bookcases and swap books with them.  Or there are many charity shops which will sell you second hand books for anything from 10p each up to around half the price you’d pay new.  (I was lucky enough to find the latest book by my favourite author in my local charity shop a few months ago – and it only cost me 50p too!), if you’re lucky you might even find you have a second hand book shop in your area – I have one near me called Daeron’s Books which specialises in second hand sci-fi and fantasy books.

If you were feeling really adventurous, you could host a book swapping party.  Invite a few friends or even a lot of friends, have a drink and discuss your favourite books and swap with other people.  It makes for a different and fun evening.

There are also websites for swapping books such as readitswapit.co.uk where you can choose who to swap with by looking through what they have and what they want.  These can be great if your bookshelves are overflowing a bit too.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009 at 7:30 am and is filed under Savings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

3 Responses to “Reading – A cheap hobby or an expensive one?”

  1. On June 3rd, 2009 joyousw wrote

    Reading is a way of life! My friends and I have a swapping circle where we each buy what we like and swap around until everyone has read them, thankfully we all like similar stuff.


  2. On June 5th, 2009 Geoff S wrote

    Take a look at my Bview review for Swapshop, an online service that allows you to swap books, DVD's, audiobooks & just about anything. The only cost is you posting out what you offer, but you gain credit for this & can then use this for the titles you want.
    Definately worth a look if you get through as many books as I do!


  3. On June 10th, 2009 patricia price wrote

    book swapping is very easy if you live in a block of flats ,why not have a free table in the lobby for people to leave and take books clothes etc.
    this can also be done in an area that had a community hall with give and take coffee mornings