I joined a book club this week. The club itself has nothing to do with personal finance, in fact, someone proposed a finance book for the reading list and it was quickly shot down.
But in the days following our first book club meeting, I found out about a great site that will save book readers money!
Before electronic mobile reading devices, the most common method to save money on books was easy: go to the library.
However, since Kindles [1], cell phones, and all the various e-readers have become so popular… it’s seems like we’re once again forced to spend money on books (beyond the occasional one-time sharing of books between friends on the Nook and Kindle). Wouldn’t it be great if there was a public electronic library?
The Electronic Library
What I didn’t know was that there already is a library of the future: OverDrive Media Console [2].
You can download books, videos, and music on your computer, mobile phone (Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, and Windows Mobile), or iPad. (The Kindle will be on OverDrive later this year.)
I was able to install the Overdrive app on my phone, select my local library, and instantly start reading books electronically!
The books are free to “check out” and when you are finished reading, the book returns to the online library for someone else to read. Almost all of the newer books on our list for the book club were available.
You can search for participating libraries [3] to see if your local library is participating.
Not only is the idea brilliant, it should save a lot of money for the die hard book readers out there! And we can still stick to the frugal advice of borrowing from the library.
By the way, the finance book that was shot down: The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine [4]. I’m going to check it out anyways, since it looks interesting.
Investing
- Stock Chart Continuation Patterns – Triangles and Channels [5]
- Vanguard Target Date Retirement Funds Glide Path [6]
- Lending Club Update: Still Getting Better (May 2011) [7]
Housing & Real Estate
- How to Sell Your House Without a Realtor [8]
- Top 10 Low Cost Ways to Prepare your Home for Sale [9]
- How to Obtain a Home Equity Loan [10]
By the Numbers
- Will Gas Prices Hit $5 a Gallon In 2011? [11]
- 7 Retirement Savings Excuses You Can Overcome [12]
- One Million Dollars: How Much Will It Buy In Thirty Years? [13]