It’s hard to beat your local library for an endless supply of free reading material. However, it’s nice to have a personal library, too — keeping your perennial favorites and books that you want to reference often close at hand.
On one hand, having your own books means you don’t have to worry about limited library hours or using gas to drive to the local library. On the other, books can be expensive. With new books often costing $10 or more each, it’s not easy to justify buying very many. What’s a penny-hoarding voracious reader to do?
Fortunately, there are several ways to build your own personal library for free or with a very small cost. Here are my favorite places to find free and low-cost books.
Where to Find Free Books
Books from these sources won’t cost you a cent, but will require some of your time. You’ll need to request books, write short reviews or earn points to convert to gift cards.
1. Review Copies From Publishers
Bloggers in any niche can get free copies of soon-to-be-released books from major publishers in exchange for reviews on your blog or social media.
For example, Book Look Bloggers requests a 200-word review posted to a book retailer’s website before you can request your next book. Library Thing, First Reads, Bethany House, and Tyndale House Publishersalso have programs that offer free books in exchange for honest reviews.
2. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Lucky kids in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia can get a free book every month from the Dolly Parton Foundation.
You must live in an area that offers the program; click the “register my child” link to see if your child is eligible. If you don’t qualify — or you don’t have kids — why not share this opportunity with friends or family members who might?
3. Little Free Libraries
The premise is simple: take a book and leave a book in one of the small boxes in various locations around the world.
If you haven’t seen Little Free Libraries’ book houses around your town, check out their website to see if there’s one in your community — or even start one. Last summer, I found one outside a McDonald’s near my home. I made sure to always keep a few books in the car so that I always had one to leave in case I found one that I wanted.
4. Paperback Swap
This online community boasts an ever-changing inventory of more than 4 million books with more being added every minute. When you join and list 10 books you’re willing to give away, you get two credits to request books from other members. Each time you send a book and the recipient marks it as received, you get a credit.
I’ve used Paperback Swap to send and receive several dozen books since 2009. The site estimates that I’ve saved over $400 as a result of swapping! I’ve only had one problem when a recipient’s mail carrier was in an accident and the book was ruined in the snow.
5. ‘Free Books’ App
You can download the Android or the iTunes app for your phone or tablet and get 23,469 classics to go. This is the ultimate ebooks and audiobooks library in your pocket.
6. Online free books
There are numerous places online where you can access or download free books like Free Books, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Gutenberg and you can also find more technical books like Free Books 4 Doctors
7. Local Library + Overdrive App
If you are a member of your local library you can download the Overdrive App and connect your membership, it will give you instant access to every book, audiobook and movie they on their online library.
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