Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Books Less Than a Penny -- Books By The Pound

I've discovered a valuable resource for book-a-holics (others like me) -- actually several resources.

The first is LibraryThing.com. I've (slowly) started cataloging all of my books -- in my spare time. As they're entered I've been attempting to tag each one -- so I can sort my library by book title, location, or subject and find everything quickly. Our family has several thousand books, so finding books quickly is important to me.

The second valuable resource is Freecycle. If you have extra stuff lying around your house, find the closest group (or 2) to you, describe the item to be picked up, what major intersection you're near, and when you'll be available. Someone will be able to use your "good junk" and you won't have to throw it away. The best part is, other people are getting rid of stuff you may want. In the last week I've gotten 4 dozen books... FREE! One of the ladies in my Freecycle is a homeschooling mom that runs a bookstore!! Since "religious" and "history" titles don't sell well, she sends me an email to tell me when to come over! Now I just need to read all these great books she's given me.

The third great thing is another website: The JR Miller Archive. Yes, the same James Russell Miller that was a well known Presbyterian (no, I haven't changed churches) in the late 1800s and early 1900s. He wrote a number of books, and they're online free of charge -- almost like a "mini-Project-Gutenberg" -- only -- just one author. Now if I only had enough free time to be able to sit down and read them all.

The last wonderful thing (for now anyway) is another website: WordClay.com. It's a DIY self-publishing company. Maybe it's not exactly "wonderful," but it's at least taken away any excuses I had for not writing those books -- the ones I've had in mind for a few years now.

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