How to read more for less? If you're a part of the bookish community in any way, you'll notice many large book hauls and I want to tell you that you don't have to spend all of your money on books. If you want to, go ahead I won't judge but here are my tips on reading more for less. Yes, I'm a book blogger but more than anything I'm an avid reader and I love finding those five-star reads; jumping into new stories, and meeting new characters. Books are expensive, inflation is everywhere and I want to help those who want to read and want to do it with less money. 

Library and Electronic Library

Of course, we've all heard of the local library. Many local libraries also have electronic libraries where you can check out ebooks and audiobooks. Reading is very simple on the apps or through your e-reader. In Canada, I use Kobo and I can sync up my e-reader very easily. I also have more than one library that I have access to in my city. Audiobooks are downloaded on the Libby app and are very easy to use. I recommend this for people who want to try audiobooks too. 

Memberships

If you're a voracious reader, memberships can help cut down on your expenses. For a monthly fee, you can download unlimited books that are available through the subscription. Kindle Unlimited (here), Kindle Kids (here), and Prime Reading  (here) are options for Kindle. Kobo has Kobo Plus (here), and Audible for audiobooks (here) are a few that are out there. Personally, I use Kindle Unlimited on my Kindle because the selection is very good and I've found many books through the membership. It's for this reason that I own both a Kobo and a Kindle, having both readers I can benefit from the pros of each one. Many of these memberships have a free trial that you can use as well. 

Netgalley/Edelweiss

Netgalley (here) and Edelweiss (here) are sites that allow readers/reviewers to request upcoming reads. These days many people share their bookish thoughts through sites like Goodreads, Amazon, Instagram, YouTube and blogging like I do. You can be a book influencer very easily. There will always be an audience for you, and they will find you. These sites also offer audiobooks too. If you prefer physical copies and want to receive advanced reading copies, you can look up the marketing emails available through publishers and pitch them why you'd like to read them and who your audience is. 

Ebook Deals

I subscribe to Bookbub (here) and I receive a daily email about the free and ebook deals that are available on those days. Many times I've found books that I really wanted pop up on those emails and I head over to Kindle or Kobo and add them to my cart.

One more tip I have is to always add books to your wishlist. I can't stress this enough, ebooks don't have to be sitting on your reader, they can sit on your wishlist until they come on sale or you're ready to read it and are willing to pay the full price for it. Countless times the books I wanted have become heavily discounted and I purchased them at that time. Most books I have added, have come on sale. Both Kobo and Kindle have a wishlist option, and I scroll through the books to see which ones have come on sale. 

Ereader (Kindle and Kobo)

Owning an e-reader does save me a lot of money because I can benefit from all these options. I also prefer to read on an e-reader because I can take it with me everywhere and I read faster for some reason. I don't read physical books anymore. It's just my preference. I have the Kindle Paperwhite (here) which I love, and I also have the Kobo Libra 2. Both are backlit and waterproof and the Kobo Libra 2 (here) has buttons which I enjoy. Kindle has the Oasis (here) with the buttons if you prefer to go with Kindle. 

Track Your Spending

I track my spending each month and see how much I spent and how many of those books I actually have read during that month. It has helped me curve the spending on those 1.99 ebook deals and be more selective with the ones I choose. Just because it's a deal doesn't mean you should buy it. Will you actually read it? That's the question. 

Borrow Books/ Free Little Libraries/ Thrift Shops

For those who do enjoy physical books, you can borrow books from friends, check out the free little libraries in your neighbourhood, and check out thrift shops. If you are looking into becoming an influencer to share your book thoughts it's nice to have a variety of books and not just the newest releases or the popular books that everyone is reading. Viewers want to see a variety of books or books they haven't heard before. 

Fanfiction

Fanfiction is something I've discovered this year. I read Manacled from SenLinYu and it was fantastic. Manacled is a Harry Potter retelling after the war, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. This one was very dark, but there is a ton of Harry Potter fan fiction available. I downloaded it from Archive of Our Own (here) and sent it straight to my Kindle. If you do some research you can find amazing books for free and they're very well written too.