Four Favorite Places to Buy Books (+ Four Best Books I’ve Read Lately)

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Anybody quarantining and looking for some good books to read?

I love to read, and I love that there’s more downtime to read in this season of staying home and social distancing.

What I don’t love is spending a ton of money on books. I am frugal, and I like to get them as cheaply as possible. If that means an e-book, I buy an e-book. If that means a paperback, I buy a paperback. (I read both, but I’ll always prefer physical books…what about you?)

Although it’s fun to browse, you won’t find me at most brick-and-mortar bookstores, for the sake of my budget alone. Sometimes their products are three or four times the price of online retailers! I don’t know about you, but I’d rather buy four books somewhere else than spend that kind of money on a single paperback.

Enter: my favorite book retailers.

Where I like to shop:

1. Christian Book Distributors. I’ve mentioned this company before and I’ll sing its praises again: it’s the best. I know it’s hard to believe that anyone could beat Amazon’s prices, but somehow Christian Book Distributors often does just that! If you’re looking for any kind of Christian book – fiction, nonfiction, textbook, Bible – it’s got the best prices. I almost exclusively read Christian books, so this has been my retailer of choice since high school. They often send out free shipping codes as well (The current one for orders of $35+ is APRBIB2020).
2. Amazon. This one’s obvious, but Amazon’s prices are competitive and they have literally everything. I usually fill up my wish list with books I want to read, and then I keep an eye out for any price drops so I can snatch them up when they go on sale. (Websites like camelcamelcamel.com will do all the price-tracking work for you, if you want.) I come across Kindle deals almost every time I log in, and there’s also the added bonus of free shipping with any physical order over $25 if you’re like me and don’t have Prime. 💁🏼 (Obviously those who do have Prime get free shipping all the time!)
3. Thrift Books. A friend introduced me to this retailer a few years ago, and I was amazed at the inventory! Even some of the more obscure and out-of-print books I’ve been unable to find anywhere else showed up on Thrift Books. You get free shipping on orders over $10, and they have both used and new books.
4. eBay. Another obvious choice, but I have to include it. I’m not ordinarily much of an eBay shopper and I always seem to lose out on everything I really want – ha! But there have been a few books I’ve only been able to find on eBay, and I’ve gotten them in pristine condition at really great prices. It’s always worth checking if you’re struggling to locate a certain book!

Other places I occasionally buy books:

I can’t leave out Target and Walmart. I usually find better prices elsewhere, but I have to mention these two because once in a while they surprise me. Last Black Friday, Target had a buy-one-get-one-free deal on ALL books, and I’ve also found some great deals at Walmart – physical books for $6 or $7 apiece! Both offer free shipping when you meet a certain threshold, and at the moment, Target also has a 10% coupon for books on its app.

One more resource worth mentioning:

I recently learned about the app Libby, which allows you to check out e-books for free on your device of choice through your local library. This almost sounds too good to be true! (For me, I guess it is, because I can’t seem to get it to register my library card. I’ll have to work it out in person after the stay-at-home order ends.) But it’s for real, and this app comes highly recommended from others I know.

Okay, now that I’ve shared my favorite places to shop for books, I have to share a few of the books I’ve actually been reading and enjoying while quarantined.

The four best books I’ve read lately:

1. The Memory House by Rachel Hauck
2. Looking Shame in the Eye: A Path to Understanding, Grace and Freedom by Simon Cozens.
3. The Good Fight: Prophetic Processing Workbook by Dan McCollam
4. Spirit Wars by Kris Vallotton. (A reread for me – it’s free right now for Kindle!)

Next up on my reading list: Strengthen Yourself in the Lord: How to Release the Hidden Power of God in Your Life by Bill Johnson. I just snagged this one for free on Kindle as well, and I’m excited to read it!

Your turn: What are YOU reading right now? And how do you find the best deals on books? Where’s your favorite place to shop?