Cheap Books

I don't read as much as I used to, but I still cherish books and try to read at least a bit every day.  And more importantly, my children cherish books and love to read.  Usually, we go to the library, but I do love to buy books that we will read over and over again.  The cats love to sit and read too.  ;-)

Many years ago I stumbled across this website which has saved me a lot of money over the years:  Book Close Outs   

Book CloseOuts is a large seller of bargain books, and they are cheap - usually 50 to 70% off the normal retail price and they have sales and promotions which bring down the prices even more.  The books are new, unread books that the publisher sells-off in volume to reduce excess inventory. Sometimes the publisher printed too many copies, in other cases bookstores purchased too many copies and have returned them to the publisher for credit.


The selection changes quickly - book titles come and go, but if you are looking for a specific title, they will email you if they get it in stock.   I put in an order last night - I've been meaning to read The Lottery by Patricia Wood for a while.  It was $1.99.    Patricia Wood writes about a man with an IQ of 76 who has had more than his fair share of hard knocks. He is not retarded, as he'll have you know: his IQ would need to be less than 75 for that, and he knows the difference even if others may not. Perry, the 32-year-old narrator of Wood's warm-fuzzy debut, has worked at the same marine supply store for half his life and lives with his wisecracking grandmother Gram, whose gems of folk wisdom help him along. But when Gram dies, Perry's selfish, money-grubbing family members swoop in and swindle him out of the proceeds from the sale of her house—and then come a-knocking again when Perry wins $12 million in the Washington State Lottery.  He attempts to forge his own path as he navigates through relationships with money-grubbing family members bent on taking advantage of him, friends who treat him the same whether he has money or not, and the townspeople who develop a new respect for him because of his newly acquired millionaire status.


I also ordered The Birth House by Ami Mckay for $3.99, or there is a hard cover available for $5.99.  It comes highly recommended.   It is the story of Dora Rare, growing up in an isolated village in Nova Scotia, who becomes a midwife's apprentice.  Together they help women through infertility, difficult labours, breech births, unwanted pregnancies and even unfulfilling sex lives. Filled with details as compelling as they are surprising, The Birth House is an unforgettable tale of the struggles women have faced to have control of their own bodies and to keep the best parts of tradition alive in the world of modern medicine.


And for my kids, among other things, I ordered The DemiGod Files, Percy Jackson and the Olympians.  It was $3.49, and I think I saw it for $16.95 the other day in a book store.  We are reading this series outloud together, and it's nice to have some supplemental information on the characters!