100 ways to get free or crazy cheap books, Part 1

November 30, 3:32 AMBook ExaminerMichelle Kerns

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It's beginning to look a lot like a recession, but, if you're like most book lovers, you'd rather cut back on anything else except your diet of books. Fortunately, there are a ton of ways to sate your thirst for the written word and keep a strict budget intact. Here is Part 1 of 100 ways to get extremely cheap and sometimes even free books. From classics to children's books, graphic novels to textbooks, sci-fi to Cliffs Notes, you can find it on the cheap here.

Book Swapping

If you've got stacks of already-read books lying about the house, book swapping could just about be the best thing that has ever happened to you. Most book swapping sites work this way: you join the site (some have membership fees, but many are free) and earn points for every book that you enter into the site as being available for swappage. When you accumulate a certain number of points, you can request a specific title/titles from other members who will then send you your requested item. Likewise, other members can put in a request for the titles you offer; you'll need to pay for the shipping charges yourself, but, if you go through a lot of books, it really is a deal, not to mention a fun way to connect with a mass of other book fiends.

1. Bookins - With this service, you can trade books and/or DVDS by accumulating points. No membership fee is required and sending items to requesters is free; to receive a book or DVD, you pay $4.49 regardless of the package's weight.

2. BookMooch - No membership fee; you pay for shipping your books to requesters and must send at least one book for every three books you receive. Has a neat feature, the book Wish List: you enter in books you want and they will be sent to you automatically when they become available and you have accrued enough points.

3. Paperback Swap - Works much like BookMooch, however, a membership fee of $10 is often required.

4. SwapThing - Different from the other swapping sites in that you can swap just about anything you can imagine (books for CDs, etc.) as long as it is agreed upon between the two parties. No membership fee; in addition, you can specify if you would like to search for swapping partners in your own location.

5. Title Trader - With this service, you can begin requesting items as soon as one of the items you post for trading has been requested and sent. The service is worldwide and free, however, for $19.95 you can upgrade your account to Premium status and maintain a wishlist and receive daily emails about the latest items on offer.

6. Zunafish - A favorite site of Oprah, Zunafish allows you to trade books for books, CDs for CDs, DVDs for DVDs. Free to join, this site is definitely well-maintained and nifty looking.

7. Readers United - Works much like BookMooch or Title Trader: you begin to accrue points when someone else requests one of your titles and you are responsible for shipping the books to the requestor.

 

8. Frugal Reader - Accrue points when other members request your books. The site allows members to discuss books and Premium membership ($25) allows you to make a wish list for titles to be specifically reserved for you.

9. WhatsOnMyBookshelf - Works much like the other swap sites, with a wish list included and no membership fee.

10. Novel Action - While this site requires a $25 membership fee, the difference here is that instead of having to wait for someone else to request one of your books before you can put in a request, after joining Novel Action you simply pick your books from the list, send in an equivalent number of books you want to exchange, and you'll be shipped all the items from your list. Includes paperbacks, hardbacks, and audio books.

11. America's Bookshelf - Requires a membership fee of $12 and book credits must be purchased in blocks of six or more for $3.50. However, no shipping fees are required -- when one of your books is requested, you will be sent a postage paid envelope for mailing.

12.Swap Simple - Enter books, games, or DVDs into the Swap Simple database, get an estimate of its current market value, and start swapping with other members. No postage fees!

 Bookcrossing

13. Bookcrossing is a quirky, hip kind of twist on book swapping. Participants register books they want to "release into the wild" at the Bookcrossing site, put a registration number inside the cover, then leave the book in some public place. Yes, leave it! Then, when a person finds it and opens it up to determine who the hapless owner is, they will see the information inside the cover directing them to enter the book as "found" on the Bookcrossing site. Once that happens, they are then to read the book and re-release it for another Bookcrosser to find.

I know, it sounds insane, but it is also insanely fun. The Bookcrossing site lists locations where books have been released (check it out -- I found three within 10 minutes of my house) and lets you track the voyage of your book across the country or, sometimes, world.  What is really fun is connecting with the receviers of the book you released. Think of it as a bookish version of pay-it-forward.

Audiobooks

Purchasing audiobooks can be prohibitively expensive. Here are some ways to listen to a good book for free.

14. Podiobooks - This very cool free service delivers serialized audio book performances in podcast form. You can receive episodes via RSS feed or by directly downloading, then listening on their computer, burning to a CD, or transfering to an mp3 player. Fantasy and sci-fi books are especially popular on this site.

15. Librivox - Listen to a variety of public domain books from Aesop's fables to poetry to P.G. Wodehouse.

16. Well Told Tales - Subscribe to this site and you'll be sent an original audio short story in the horror, sci-fi, or crime genre every other Thursday. Each episode is 15-30 minutes long.

17. Wired for Books - Listen to interviews with award-winning authors or pick from the site's impressive selection of full-cast audioproductions or books and poems read by the author.

18.audiobooksforfree - Offers all kinds of books imaginable (some are abridged) for free listening.

19.speedlibrary.com - Features 1000+ free mp3 audiobooks

20. audiobooks.net - While public domain book audios are free at this site, they also offer audiobook downloads for sale.

21. Free Classic Audiobooks - Small but nicely brainy collection.

22. Learn Out Loud - Features a huge collection of educational audiobooks as well as videos. Very nice!

Pining for more ways to get free or utterly cheap books? SUBSCRIBE to the Book Examiner and get ideas for free ebooks, online books, and supercheap textbooks in Part 2.