5 Ways to Read Sustainably
I love buying books.
When I was younger, I’d browse the shelves, collect the ones that sounded good, then buy as many as I could
Back when paperback books were $9.99, I’d be able to get two with a twenty-dollar bill.
Now, some hardcovers cost up to $27, and a paperback is never under $10. With book prices up so high, I find it hard to justify buying every book I want to read.
After years of book hoarding and binge reading, I’ve found ways to fulfill my book addiction without breaking the bank.
Buying copious amounts of books from large chain bookstores isn’t sustainable, for your wallet or the planet. The resources and time it takes to print a book versus the time it takes for me to read it are not equal. Especially, when the book will end up collecting dust on my shelf, never to be read again.
I realized I was buying books just to buy them. Over the years, I’ve tried to pick up better buying habits to help save some money and maybe help the planet out too.
Here are five ways I sustainably read.
Your local library
You might think it’s silly that I have this on my list. You might say, “Julia, everyone knows what a library is,” or “This isn’t new information.”
True, everyone probably knows what a library is, but I bet most of you have never been inside your local library or haven’t visited since you were a kid.
I’m here to put you on your local library.
Since entering college, I started to hate buying books. For me, it felt like an unnecessary and extreme expense. Realistically, I cannot afford to buy books at the rate I read them.
This transition from buying to loaning wasn’t fast because, I’ll be honest, it’s hard to break the book-buying cycle. It’s so exciting to buy a brand-new book with a slick cover and unfolded pages, but it’s expensive.
This summer was a big library summer for me. I was living at my family’s beach house, and I wanted to have a wholesome beach summer.
I started riding my bike to the library at least once a week, and it became a fun summer activity.
My favorite part about getting my books from the library is the selection.
I like using the library to find new authors and books I probably wouldn’t have read otherwise.
Libraries are also good for speed readers. If you’re a fast reader, libraries are your best option.
Check out as many books as you want, read them in a day, then go back to the library for five more. It’s a win-win for you and your wallet.
My last two reviews, A Taste of Gold and Iron and Last Night At The Telegraph Club, are books I got from the library!
Thriftbooks.com and other used-book websites
When I started moving away from buying my books at full price from chain bookstores, I still struggled with not owning the book. Entering college, I couldn’t afford to buy every book I wanted to read, but then I found my holy grail: Thriftbooks.
Thriftbooks is exactly as it seems; it’s an online thrift store for books. It’s a good way to find any book you want for a more affordable price.
Sadly, this is not an ad, and it’s only me waxing poetic about this website.
Thriftbooks and other online, secondhand bookstores are so great because they still allow you to buy books, but instead of dumping loads of money on books, you’re spending a lot less.
You’re buying second-hand books, so you’ll pay sometimes half the price of what you’d pay at a regular bookstore.
My favorite part of thriftbooks is that you’re getting other people’s books. A lot of the books I’ve bought have notes, highlights, and comments in them. I love the idea that someone else was reading the same book before me, and I happened to get theirs.
Another nice thing about online thrift bookstores is that you can use them like Barnes and Noble. The problem I have with second-hand bookstores is that you can’t go looking for a specific book.
On Thriftbooks, you can literally search for the book you want instead of searching through the shelves.
Thrift stores and reuse centers
Now, let’s talk about second-hand bookstores and other reuse centers.
As I said in my previous section, it’s hard to find a specific book at used bookstores because they tend to have older books. However, that’s kind of what I like about them.
A local used bookstore I go to is The Montclair Book Center. This store and others like it are great for expanding your library with random reads. If you want a classic novel, you’ll definitely find it at a used store.
I also like finding poetry at these stores. I’m not a big poetry gal, so scouring the shelves for random poetry books is fun.
Shopping at second-hand bookstores is good for several reasons. You’re supporting a local business, you’re not contributing to the production of books, and you’re saving money.
For someone who’s trying to lower their impact as a consumer, these stores are a great alternative.
I also like to shop for gifts there. A book is a perfect gift for a reader, especially if it makes you think of them. I love searching the shelves for a random book that reminds me of a friend.
Library book sales
I wanted to shout out library book sales and other big book sales because they’re a great way to buy old classics that you read in high school and find hidden gems you never would’ve read otherwise.
Every library will have an annual book sale where they sell donated books or ones they don’t want to keep on the shelves. These sales always have cheap books.
It’s also a way to support your local library because she sure does deserve it!
Friends of the Library sales, which are nonprofit groups that work with libraries to support libraries, are a good place to shop too.
One of the biggest Friends of the Library book sales is in my favorite place on Earth: Ithaca, New York.
During October, Ithaca’s Friends of the Library hosts an annual book sale during the weekends.
The exciting and exhilarating part of this sale is that every weekend, the books get cheaper and cheaper until they’re 5 cents.
You head me. 5 cents.
I once got 20 books for less than $5.
As I said earlier, it’s hard to find new books at these kinds of sales, but I like buying random books I don’t need. For example, I have a book called “The Book of Commonly Mispronounced Words.” It’s my favorite book.
E-readers
I left E-readers for the end of this post because I love to hate them.
Do I love reading on my phone? Not really. Is it easy and convenient to always have my book in my pocket? Yes.
I’ve never been an e-reader girly. Partially because it feels stupid to buy e-books, but also because I enjoy reading physical books.
However, I do dabble in iBooks quite frequently. It’s easy to find free iBooks online, so I rather do that, than pay for books on my Kindle.
E-readers are great for traveling, commuting to work, and other instances where you don’t want to drag a book along. But for some reason, I’ve just never been able to get into them.
To keep it short and sweet, e-books are both economically and environmentally sustainable. I just don’t like them.
When to buy books from Barnes and Noble
If you’re a long-term reader, you probably have authors you love and want to support.
Instead of spending money on new books, spend your money on the authors you know and love and want to give your money to.
I used to buy every book I wanted to read, but now I have a bookshelf filled with books I’ve never read or will never read again.
As much as I love having a filled bookshelf, it’s realistically a waste of money and space.
However, as a chronic rereader, I love having my library stacked with my comfort reads.
A tip I got from a friend is to buy a book after I’ve read it so I know that it will be valuable to my shelf. Because, let’s be honest, there are some books that we need to have available whenever we need to do a reread.
Wrap things up
I wanted to write this blog post because reading culture right now is intimidating. All over social media I see readers buying every book they’re reading and stacking their shelf to the brim.
To me, this sets an unrealistic standard for reading.
Let this be your reminder, you don’t need to have a massive bookshelf to make you a reader. The biggest bookworms are BFFs with their local librarians.
Let me know if you try out any of these methods!
