The Cost of Reading while Travelling...
 

For those of you who read a lot while on travel, have you totaled up the cost of purchasing your reading materials?

I did this recently, since I capture all of my "travel" and "professinal books and journals" expenses, being a micro-business owner. Wow! Just on novels and non-fiction, the non-deductible expenses, I've been spending a lot.

So, I've switched over to visiting the local library and checking out books. Some of my international trips can be as long as two months, so library fines were a question that came up. Fortunately, the local library lets one extend books by internet. I thought that was really cool, and was just wondering if anyone else is now reading on the cheap, like I am.

I took three Graham Greene novels with me on a 1-month gig to Angola [just back last Sunday], and was able to renew online with no problem.

M8

Duplicate post

I miss the large libraries I grew up with in the North. We now live in a rural county in North Alabama where the library is nothing to brag about. Even larger cities where I've lived in the South are deficient compared to what I remember.

Back in the 90's, though, I developed a "used bookstore habit". Knoxville had McKay's, where a book sold for 1/2 the cover price. If you could find an old copy of a classic, say published in the 70's, you might end up paying $.40. I also traded in what I had read regularly, getting back 1/2 of what I paid.

Today, I haunt the bargain tables at Books a Million and buy used from Amazon, but some books can only be had new and in hardback. We are a family of 6 readers (all but the dog) and I would guess we spend over $1000 a year on books.

Reading on the road does get expensive. I alway take my current book and a backup with me and usually have to buy something before the trip home.

Yes, my reading addiction has totaled over $1,000 annually, not including professional material, where a single book can run up to USD $200.

I have also used AbeBooks website for purchasing used books, like for 10 cents on the dollar, not including S&H.

M8

Check out www.bookcrossing.com

I have a used book store a block from my house. I go over there and buy a pile of paperbacks for $1 - $1.50 each. I don't feel bad if I leave them in the hotel or plane when I'm done if I want to lighten up.

I don't want to know what I spend on books. I do frequently seem to find take-a-book, leave-a-book places on my travels (I've found these everywhere from B&Bs in Indonesia to a Fairmont in the states), and I've read some interesting books that I otherwise wouldn't have as a result. Cruisers - as in those who sail fulltime - make it a habit to exchange books with other cruisers at every anchorage. I wouldn't travel with library books only because I like to leave reading material behind as I go and free up space.

Hotel Sharing "Library"
 

One of the hotel locations in MKE where I frequently stay has a lobby area that includes a fireplace and some bookshelves. The shelves are filled with various books that people have left behind in a kind of free honor/sharing library. Leave one if you want. Take one if you want. If I want something to read, they have a fair selection. Very cool. PM me if you want to know where.

I have started using overstock.com for my book purchases, getting the newest hottest best seller can on occasion be a bit of a problem but for older books and classics they are great and shipping is only about $1 an order; no matter what the size. Another possibility is to subscribe to magazines; many magazines offer subscriptions for about $1 an issue I know that this includes Conde Nast and 1 good issue can easily fill a day or two of flying for just a $1 or $2.

I subscribed to a bunch of magazines using various internet deals and for a couple, some orphan miles on AA. 3-4 of my magazine subscriptions cost me less than $5 per year. Easily worth it compared to the bookstore price, and one issue of the Economist is good for an hour or so.

Going to start checking out the library soon as well - I hear the one near me is excellent, and they allow online renewals.

Used bookstores and trade-a-book places are the way to go for travel books. I only take paperbacks on the road, as I need to consider both space and weight in the luggage.

If I finish a book while traveling, I will often give it to someone, or trade it in at a local used bookstore something else. Outside of the U.S. English language paperbacks are a very welcome gift - once I left a half dozen of them at a resort in Mexico, and I heard later that they had been passed all around the staff as books were a rare and welcome treat for them.

I also save up the big Sunday crossword puzzles, as I rarely find time at home to do them. They take up no space at all, and a couple of them can keep me busy for a whole flight.

I'm cheaper than any of you. Our local libraries sell paperbacks for $.25 or $.50. I've got about 4 local and county libraries within a 10 mile drive. I stock up there periodically. Then when I finish a book on the road, I abandon it.

I travel a lot to places where there is little activity in the evening, and no English TV other than CNN type shows. I read omnivorously, and like buying books on the cheap.

I am hesitant to bring library books on a trip because the books could get lost or heaven forbid, dropped in the water at a beach or a resort pool.

Travel hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/travel.htm

Same-o here. Some of the really remote places have no TV, in any language, and no internet access, and no night life other than bats. I do carry some DVD movies, but I find reading to be more productive for the brain, even trash novels. I also use the time to catch up on CD language training, etc.

OTOH, some places are quite the opposite. Really nice hotel digs, and an over-abundance of evening activities. As an example, I just came off of a remote gig in Angola, but am now headed to a party-place gig in New Orleans.

M8

I'm a big fan of the library. Many of the books are paperback---perfect for travel.