Reading is one of my favorite hobbies, but it can also become very expensive.   With the invention of some high tech products on the market, you can do a lot of reading digitally.  You can also save money while reading digitally.  Here are a few ways I have found to read digitally and save money.

Kindle Reading

A Kindle is a hand held reader that you can buy through Amazon.  As you buy books from Amazon, they are downloaded to your Kindle and ready for you to read. Kindles have really gone down in price since they first came out and are now a little more affordable.  Some of the advantages of the Kindle is that you can buy books that are digital usually for less.  The books I have been buying at Wal-Mart are usually $1-$2 dollars less on Amazon Kindle.  Another advantage is you save money on shipping or gas on going to the store to get your book.  I also like getting a new book to read as soon as I am ready to read it.  This makes reading books in a series so much easier.  I can start reading the next one as soon as I am done with one. Another great way to save money using the Kindle is to take advantage of the freebies that Amazon offers.  I have really been shocked at the books they offer for free.  They don’t stay free forever so download them as you see them listed.  You can always delete the book if you don’t find it worth your time later.  I like to read Christian fiction and Amish fiction and have found several free books that I really like reading.  I have also found some books for free that I thought I’d never have picked out but really enjoyed them and found new authors I like too.  You can find out what books are free at this website.  Kindles also save you from carrying around big books.  All you have to take with you is your Kindle and you have the books ready to use wherever you go.  I also like that it saves your house from clutter.  All your books are stored in one small place, no need for bookshelves at home.

 If you don’t have the money to buy a hand held Kindle, you can also download it on your desktop for free.   You can find that download here.    It took me a little while to get used to reading books on my desktop, but they were free.   I also have a HERO android phone.  My phone comes with a Kindle App that I downloaded for free.  Everything on my Kindle for Android right now are books I got from the Amazon Kindle store,  so it did not cost me anything extra than what I was already paying for my cell phone.  I’m pretty sure that you can find the app on other phones like, the i-phone.    There are so many ways that the Kindle can actually save you money on reading that if reading is a big hobby for you, then you might consider using one.

NetGalley

NetGalley is another way you can read digitally for no money.  NetGalley is a website that a lot of publishers use to get people to read advanced copies of upcoming books and even some books already out in the market.  You can download the galleys straight to your Kindle or you can download a free version of Adobe Digital to your computer.   You have to request most galleys and get approved from the publisher before reading.  After you read the galley, you will be responsible for writing a review on your blog or website.  Publishers will check your blog or website to see if you are who they are looking for to read the galleys before they approve you.  I got declined for a lot of books until my blog was up to date and I blogged often.  I have been declined for very few since I have updated my blog.  I have also read several books that I would have read anyways before they even hit the shelves.  That saves me a whole lot of money and all I have to do is post a review and send it to the publisher through the NetGalley site.  The whole review process was very simple.  Just recently, they announced that you would also be able to download the galleys to your i-phone through a new app.  So, this might be away for you to read books you want and even some new ones for free.

When looking to save money on reading, look for digital reading options.  You’ll be suprised at how much you can save.