Many bookworms believe that they need to own more books.
One who has a fully-stocked library at home and another who has just began to purposely collect reads that they love will both enthusiastically tell you that there are a lot more books they wish to hold.
And in the world that we are living in right now, a lot of people all over are picking up books from stores and getting lost in them.
If you are hoping to read or collect more books, how can you achieve that within budget?
Best deals on books
For the one who loves reading inspirational books, there is something for you. A good number of supermarkets in Kenya have special offers on self-help books which you can take advantage of.
Bookstores, too, have some of the great classics like Jane Austen’s, Charles Dicken’s, Niccolo Machiavelli’s that go for as much as KES 250-500.
Thrifted bookstores, anyone?
We can tell that most readers love new books. The soft covers, the smells, the neat pages… it all makes sense. But there is also a fascination of the scent of ‘old’ books plus actually getting your favourite books on a good deal.
If this speaks to you, then you can visit Half-priced Books Store in Nairobi’s CBD for, really, half the price of a book! We can attest to the fact that most of their books look like they have never been read before.
You can hardly find recently published books in thrifted bookstores, though.
Pick-of -the-month discounts
Several bookstores select a book of the month which also happens to be their book club read to promote a buying culture while building a community of readers. For instance, Text Book Centre.
This can be a time to get newly-published books at slightly lower prices.
Book exchanges
For the one who is OK with lending out or borrowing books, you could start a book swapping agreement with the readers in your life.
This works well if your ultimate goal is to read books without necessarily owning them. What can help with this kind of arrangement is to discuss openly about the timelines everyone needs to return books, what books you all enjoy so that this benefits everyone involved, and so on.
Look out for book giveaways
Digital content creators occasionally partner with bookstores to give out books or even decide on their own to gift their online community. This can be another way to add to your collection.
You might be in luck!
Explore free eBooks
We can only encourage reading legally-downloaded free eBooks since writing books is an investment and piracy denies writers the opportunity to benefit from it.
It is difficult too to know which eBooks are pirated and which ones are not. One of the legitimized sites is Gutenberg.com.
Go for low-priced versions
A lot of books have several print versions with different price tags. The first edition of a book can cost higher than its second or third or fourth edition. Paperbacks, hardcovers, e-Books and audiobooks differ in prices as well. Research on what is most convenient to you before making a purchase.
We would love to know, what tips do you use to get more books?
