Become a Green Bookworm

Photo by: eeko

Walking into the local big box bookstore gives me a rush. As much as I adore the aroma of freshly minted pages and percolating café coffee my family has a solid case to send me to a recovery program. I love that people lounge in comfy clothes studying, that the kiddie area has miniature furniture, and that shoppers hush in reverence.

It's this overall atmosphere that weasels me out of $24.99 plus a latte every time. Books can, and should, be an important part of life, but do book manufacturers replenish what is reaped? Plus, how can we indulge in reading without digging into savings?

According to the a study completed by the U.S. Book Industry, at least 45% of publishers—including Scholastic, Random House, and Thomas Nelson—have initiated multiple changes to print responsibly. From using recycled paper and reducing energy consumption to lessening rapid deforestation, the big book players are being smart. Pulp fibers and reclaimed paper are vastly cheaper to print and require less processing.

If you can't resist the siren call of those newly inked sheets and soy cappuccinos, rest assured that you can find your favorite reads for less. Your options are listed from least to most expensive for all frugal price points.

• Good 'ole Library
  A word to the procrastinatory: library cards are free, late fees are not. I once racked up $32.25 for two books I accidentally packed during a move. Would they accept $20 to settle? Absolutely not. Overdue books are a big moneymaker for many libraries.
  
  Another trend starting to pop up is annual usage fees for library users—yes, that means paying to have access to the library. As budgets get tighter in tough economic times city councils are trying to squeeze as much as they can from every source.
  
  Since I'm a bit of a book snob, I don't enjoy checking out "well loved" books with dirty edges and torn pages. And trade paperbacks are much easier to tote and position than hardbacks. But new releases, usually available at the front, are relatively clean and users can sign up on a wait list.
  
  The library is your best source for finding the biggest local selection of books for free. Learn to love it.
• Free eBooks
  Especially in the non-fiction department, free (or bargain) eBooks provide hours of information and entertainment for pennies. With the advent of self publication via the internet, you can take advantage of stellar authors who haven't yet been picked up by a big publishing house.
  
  Many Books has an impressive selection of over 20,000 eBooks from which to choose.
  
  Another great source of free and cheap reads is the Digital Book Index, searchable by genre, author, or title.
• Used Book Shops
  Lest you assume the resale book stores only carry Harlequin Romance and 1980's cook books, think again! While there are many discount, resale shops across the nation, my favorite chain is Half Price Books.
  
  Each location offers a totally unique set of merchandise and displays new publications at the front of every store. You pay half of all cover prices and sometimes more off depending on supply.
  
  Yes, you will have to hunt and peck for what you won't. No, they don't have a list of every title in stock. But all personnel are certified book lovers and can quickly help you navigate. Most stores are plastic bagless and donate hefty proceeds and merchandise to literacy organizations worldwide.
• Book Mooch Book Swap
  Mooch: "to get or try to get something free of charge; to obtain or try to obtain by begging."
  
  Mooching with other moochers is fun, and this online community makes it possible. Users sign up for free and earn points for every book sent to another user or purchased from Book Mooch's Amazon link.
  
  If you don't have a hard time parting with your books, this is an excellent way to trade. I searched for three of my favorite, but not blockbuster, authors and found a big variety of each available to mooch. With the U.S. Post Office, pay $4.95 (up to 4 lbs.) for the small flat rate shipping box to send books out.
• Book Apps for the iPhone
  As the 2009 App Gems Award for Best Reader, Eucalyptus isn't cheap by app standards, but at $9.99 readers can actually enjoy an experience as close to book reading as possible. Users pay separately for reading content at paperback prices.
  
  If you refuse to pay for apps check out the free Stanza, a simpler yet similar app that shares many of the same features and a wide variety of books. If reading online feels like wearing jeans two sizes too small, give it at least three books before scrapping it. Into my fifth Stanza book, I am now fully adjusted and enjoy the portability of my favorite books.
  
  Your best bet for a free Bible app is with You Version's Holy Bible. Even though pages are harder to turn that traditional e-readers, it does come with reading plans, multiple languages, and nearly every translation out there.
• Kindle
  Amazon's Kindle is sexy. With a battery that lasts for days and the ability to tap into a 3G network for 60 second downloads on over 420,000 books, I could get used to reading from a screen.
  
  Plus the Kindle has earned solid props for having a smaller carbon footprint than traditional paper bound books. Every one hour of reading on the Kindle is equivalent to the energy required to create four pages.
  
  Books are less as well at $9.99 for all new releases. However, initial costs for the Kindle are steep, starting at $259. If you're accustomed to reading twenty books a year and paying an average of $15 per book, you'll spend an additional $200 in reading material during your first Kindle year. You won't see a return on your investment for at least three years, more if you don't read as much. By then you may be stuck with an HD player when everyone else went Blu-Ray. I'd stick with eBooks and read them on your laptop instead.

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