Tag Archives: library

10 Best Ways to Read on a Budget

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You have a habit, and you have to support that habit. Paperbacks and comic book issues are cheap, but hardcover books, graphic novels, and trade paperbacks are quite a chunk of change — and if you buy many at a time like some of us do, it’s a huge chunk of change!

Because we all love books and also love saving money, here are ten ways that you will be able to save without going through withdrawals.

Buy $1 Books at Stop & Shop

I’ve seen a bookshelf full of secondhand books in the checkout area at several Stop & Shop stores. Most of these are sleazy romance novels, but I’ve found some treasures. I got one of the Shannara books by Terry Brooks for a buck one time, and I’ve always loved the Shannara series. Even better, the proceeds are donated to charity.

Read Entire Books and Comics Online for Free

Many authors post a few chapters from their new or upcoming books, but I’ve also seen entire books for free. The Oatmeal and Hyperbole and a Half post their own web comics for free, and both Marvel and DC offer free previews as well as a few free complete issues, and charge 99¢ for other complete issues. Image Comics lets you read the first issue of dozens of their comics for free.

Get Books on Craigslist for Free

My friend once got a whole box full of Stephen King novels from a Craigslist listing. They were the good ones, too — some of which even I haven’t read! People go through their stuff all of the time, and Craigslist is a great way to reap the rewards. (I get to reap those rewards, too; when I asked my friend how much she payed, she offered to pass on the ones she’s read!)

Set Up a Book Swap

Get all of your friends to put together the books they’ve read and would like to trade, and hold a book swap. No one walks away without something new, and you can donate the leftovers to Goodwill, a thrift store, the Boys and Girls Club, or the charity of your choice.

Scavenge Your Neighborhood for Books at Yard Sales

Sometimes people need to get rid of their stuff, but they also need a little extra cash. Lucky for us bookworms, you can get their books for cheap. Keep your eyes open for some golden comics, too, because some people don’t know the value of them and just want to make space.

Visit Local Used Bookstores

Several years ago, I went to a tiny bookstore downtown with a couple of friends, and walked out with books I’d always wanted but couldn’t afford to buy new. You would be surprised at what stores are in your area. Find a used bookstore in your city or town by going to Google and searching “bookstore [your city]“.

Buy Used Books Online

It still thrills me that you can buy used books online. Both Amazon and Barnes and Noble carry used copies of the books they sell. You can almost always find a used copy if the paperback or hardcover is out of your budget. They even have used comics! Both sites also offer sweet shipping deals.

Buy a Barnes and Noble Membership

You will save a hell of a lot by getting a BN membership if you have the extra $25 for the year. That $25 may seem hard to part with when you have two books in your arms that you absolutely have to buy, but it’s well worth it if you’re a frequent customer. (Hi!)

Sign Up for a Library Card

Don’t forget about your local library! Anyone with proof of residency can get a card, and it’s free. You can read all of the books you want, and most libraries carry graphic novels. If you forget to bring them back on time, the late fees are very small; my library charges under a dollar a day, per day over the due date.

Read Comics

Comics are the cheapest form of literature you can buy. DC Comics just lowered all of their prices, so most of their comic books are $2.99. Image also only charges a couple bucks. Sadly, Marvel is still in the dark ages, and apparently doesn’t want to give their customers a break. Many people buy a dozen issues at a time. If you buy twelve comic books at $3.99, you’re dishing out almost fifty bucks, as opposed to just a little over $35.

How do you support your book habit without going broke? Share your tips in the comments!

Meet my six-month-old To Do list

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A little over a month ago, I posted a list of things I’d been trying to get done for five months. While I got a lot of it done, I didn’t do it all — and it’s grown.

I’m going to try to get everything in purple done today, and everything with a * done this week.

UPDATE 02/08: I’m trying to get everything in blue done today (Tuesday).

UPDATE 02/09: Today is redrum.

UPDATE 02/10: Apparently trying to divide this list into days isn’t working for me, so from now on I’m just going to tackle this list like I did the last one: a little at a time.

  • Open IRA and transfer 401(k) to it*. My new job has 401(k), also, so I really want to get this moved as soon as possible.
  • Reorganize work area*. I organized most of my work area last month, but now that I’m not working from home anymore, I want to organize it so that it can be utilized solely for writing. The way I have it organized now, everything for work is within reach, and everything for writing… not really.
  • Pay back Mike. Poor Mike. He’s been keeping my nicotine levels stable and helping me out with anything else that he can. I feel horrible that I owe him so much money from Christmas and that he’s still helping me out. At the same time, it’s a nice feeling; like he says all the time, I’d do it for him. It’s so nice to be in a relationship like that.
  • Pay Mom for January, February, and probably March car insurance. More guilt ensues.
  • Put aside money for 2010 taxes. It’s a good thing I have until April, huh?
  • Edit first draft of Sade On the Wall and add chapters for second draft*. First, an outline!
  • Pawn sword*. I have a replica of a samurai suicide sword that an old boyfriend once bought me. At the time, I wanted to collect tons of sharp, pointy objects. It’s sat tucked between a couple of pieces of furniture for the last, oh, five or so years, because I’ve had nowhere to put it. Now that I’m older, I don’t even want to collect swords, nor do I want one in the house for when future Mini Liz and Mini Mike are roaming around. (Eek!) Plus? Hi, I’m broke! I’ve already tried one pawn shop but they don’t take weapons. I’m going to (try to remember to) try another one sometime this week.
  • Upgrade processor. I want a faster laptop, and I want to play Sims 3 without it crashing, dammit!
  • Edit “In the Darkness, It Waits” for Confluenza reading*.
  • Take car to Town Fair Tire to get tires checked out for leaks*.
  • Discuss final payment*.
  • Redesign personal sites. I’d like to redesign EKB Designs, Letters of Love, and my blog, so that when I’m ready to renew my hosting, I can launch some sexy-ass sites¹.
  • File tax return*.
  • Exchange Dad’s Christmas gift*. I am so late on this. Good thing the receipt lasts until March 31st.
  • Transplant dragon tree*. My poor little plant is way too big for the pot it’s in right now.

It never ends, I guess.

What’s on your To Do list?

¹All of my websites are still live at the moment, and my plan is definitely canceled. I’m starting to wonder if one of you were sneaky and renewed it for me. I’m thinking it’s a glitch on my host’s part, though, and while I’d love to be using my sites, I’m afraid that if I start using them again, they will get wiped and I’ll lose some data. Once I get back on my feet, I’m paying for three years in advance. It’s cheaper, and that way, I won’t have to worry about it again for quite some time.

*I want to try to get all of these things done this week!

Meet my five-month-old To Do list

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Someone needs to hold me accountable, dammit. So no, these are not resolutions — just a giant To Do list that has been building for the last few months. If I don’t start getting these things done, do something terrible to me. Like… Something. I dunno. I’m sure you’ll think of something good.

  • Get 401(k) transfer form from old job. I need this so I can open an IRA and transfer the $1,000+ that’s in my 401(k). Because, you know, that’s for those later years when I can sit on my ass on the beach every day and write in the evenings.
  • Organize work area, big desk, and corner. This probably won’t help speed up the process of moving the rooms around in our little house, but it’ll make my Virgo self feel a hell of a lot better.
  • Return P.O. Box keys. I couldn’t afford to renew the Letters of Love P.O. Box, so I had to let them close it. I haven’t made it downtown to return the keys yet. They can’t penalize me for that… right? Right?!
  • Pay library late fees. I just remembered this. Eek. I love the library, and I love being able to use it. Obviously.
  • Pay car registration renewal fees. Before I can do that, I have to take it for emissions testing. I need to do this like… this week.
  • Get a new bra. I need to write a new GIRLS ONLY post about bra issues. Just know that the Victoria’s Secret store doesn’t carry my size, and I can’t wait long enough to order one online.
  • Pay back Mike. I owe him $225. (He lent me money when I was dirt broke so that I could buy Christmas presents for everyone.)
  • Pay Mom for car insurance for December. Please, please, please let my clients pay their invoices this week! (I wonder if they were all waiting for the new year, for tax purposes? Argh.)
  • Put aside money for taxes. Because, you know, I totally haven’t put anything aside. At all. Sigh. (Please, please, please let my clients pay their invoices soon!)
  • Go through clothes, shoes, and other things. I have several shirts that are too tight — that were tight even before I gained weight, so at least there’s that — and since I just got several new sweaters, my bin of clothes is overflowing. (No dresser, remember?) I have a couple pairs of pants that I’m hoping to fit into again someday, so those are staying, dammit. I also have some shoes I don’t wear anymore. All of these things will either be donated, or sold to Goodwill or something. (I always donate them, but right now I’m pretty desperate for extra cash, so I might just sell them. We’ll see.) In general, I’d like to minimize the amount of things I own, since our living area is small. I just gave Vinny, my cousin, a Grand Theft Auto game I don’t play anymore. I should go through and see what other PS2 games I don’t use, since his PS2 is the only system he has. (Not to say that I don’t use my PS1 and PS2 games, but I’m sure there are some I don’t.) I went through my books a few weeks ago and have yet to take out the bags and boxes full of the ones I want to donate or give away. Sometimes, I’m just as bad as my dad when it comes to procrastination.
  • Renew Barnes and Noble membership. You know, after all the bills and debts are paid. I cannot wait to go buy some books!
  • Read Sade On the Wall manuscript. I haven’t touched it in a while. I’m ready to start editing, and the first step is to read it through and make a list of Things to Fix as I read. If you haven’t read it, you can read it here.
  • Make appointment with local rheumatologist. Now that the holidays are over, I’m hoping I can get in touch with that local rheumatologist Mom found. (I think I forgot to tell you that my doctor’s office refused to do the referral themselves, told me I had to set up an appointment and then have them send over the referral, and that I couldn’t get in touch with the rheumatologist. Ah, the medical merry-go-round.)

You’d think I’d start on some of these things now, right? But no. I have college dropouts to take care of (Sims 2). I also have a Bare Minerals how-to DVD to watch. I bought the Get Started kit with some of my Christmas money and cannot wait to use it. Sandy put it on me about two years ago when we went to her friend’s wedding, and I loved it; it made my shiny spots go away. (Side note: Two years ago I didn’t know if I wanted to ever get married, yet lately Mike and I have been talking nonstop about getting married within the next few years. Life is funny.)

And you know what? I like my online persona just fine right now. I think I was just feeling indecisive about other things — my career, which I will definitely write about soon — and it carried over. I’m here to stay, for now anyway.

What’s on your To Do list?

Taking care of business

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I’m probably not going to be around much lately, but I am alive and I do have bullets!

  • I have an appointment on Thursday with an advisor at Southern. Andrea in the Academic Advising Center really helped me out. She helped me get reactivated and helped get my $200 tuition deposit transferred to the Fall 2009 semester (long story). She rocks and I love her! If it weren’t for her, I’d probably still be lost somewhere in the SCSU time warp.
  • My graduation party was on Saturday. I have pictures that I need to post. I also need to post pictures of my tattoo, because Sarcastica pointed out that I said I would and never did. (Although, I did post pictures of it right after it got done over at Scars Can Speak!) The point of this particular bullet? Remind me to post said grad party pictures. Because if you don’t, it’ll be another year before you see them. :D
  • Speaking of Letters of Love, I am working on creating a plan for the project. This last year has been amazing, but I’ve kinda just been winging it. I need a solid plan and some long-term goals. I picked up some books at the library today.
  • I also picked up books on how to write a business plan, since my aunt and I are (pretty much fully?) partnered in her business and we need to write one. This is one thing that neither of us know how to do, so I went to the library to edumacate myself. I hadn’t been to the library since 2003, so I had to renew and replace my card, as well as pay a small late fee for a few books from 2003. I felt really good walking out of there with five books. Next time I’m definitely getting some fiction!
  • My mom gave me a dragon tree in my Easter basket. (Yes, my mom still makes me an Easter basket. Jealous?) I planted the seeds and put them in the terrarium, not expecting anything to actually sprout. But:
    (Baby) dragon tree!

    (Baby) dragon tree!

    I took this picture about a week ago. It’s almost grown out of the little pot right now! Actually, I think I need to remove the lid now and transfer it soon after.

  • I scheduled an appointment with a new doctor who is not a specialist of anything for Wednesday. I’m hoping that her fresh eyes and my list of shit wrong with me will get me somewhere.
  • In the midst of all this craziness, I’ve been pretty much ignoring my email. If you’re waiting for a reply, I will be catching up tomorrow. I apologize for the delay, but right now I can only do so much.
  • Other than that, I’m exhausted and I’ll have to come back to this when I have more time and am not so tired!

Girl anachronism

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It’s that time of year again. That clean scent is back in the air, daffodils are popping up everywhere, and it’s raining, raining, raining. I’m not awake enough in the morning to remember an umbrella, but as I was walking the block from my parking lot to our office building I was suddenly overcome with nostalgia for our downtown library (which is, ironically, right across the street from my office).

When I was little, the highlight of my week during the spring and summer was when Mom would take us downtown. She scraped up change out of a yellow plastic cup she kept on top of the fridge and we rode the bus to the Green. We walked from the Green to the library, which was my favorite place. I could have anything I wanted, if only I just took the time to look for it. I basked in the old scent of the books — no scent compares, even now — and the wood shelves. I could get lost in those rows and rows of books. I fell deeply in love with the library and my little plastic library card.

After we picked out two or three books each (sometimes more), we would walk to Dominic and Pia’s, a little hole in the wall pizza place that has been around since Mom was a kid. They have the best pizza in the world, hands down. Just go ahead and try to change my mind. Dominic and Pia are an Italian couple. The entire restaurant is run by family and has gained its reputation strictly by word of mouth. There is barely ever a free table, and the little place usually has a long line during lunch and dinner. (I actually just recently went there for lunch with my parents, and both Dominic and Pia were still cooking. They’ve got to be in their seventies or eighties by now.)

When we were finished eating (which was always awesome because it was one of the few times we were allowed soda), we would walk back to the Green and ride the bus home. We’d spend the afternoon reading our new books and looking forward to the next trip. Those are the days I will always think of when I envision happiness, safety, love, and fun. Those are the days that will always immediately come to mind whenever I think of my childhood.

What’s your favorite childhood memory?