Daily Deal - Where to get cheap books! (Part I)

I have been an avid reader my entire life.  My parents always wondered where I got that particular trait from seeing as neither of them have it.  I have an emotional attachment to books I really enjoy - it's one of those things where I always have to keep the book in anticipation that I will one day read it again.  Admittedly, there are very few that I have actually re-read, but I still remember them with fondness and love having them on my bookshelf.  The biggest problem that I've always had with reading so much is that it's not the cheapest hobby to have.  Especially after I'd just graduated college and was living on a marginal salary (which to this day I still question how on earth I survived), I decided that I had to find alternative methods of obtaining books at a highly discounted price.

Further reason to find bargain book discounts is because I now support a book habit for two.  My husband has become an avid reader since we started living together, especially while he had a 30 minute train commute every morning before he lost his job.  While I doubt I could get him to step into a book store himself, he tends to enjoy many of the same books that I do - crime dramas, thrillers, mysteries etc.  He's not likely to touch anything that has Jane Austen in the title, or that he deems to be "girly looking", but seems to have read his way through everything else I own in the last few years.  So, for as long as I'm providing the reading material, it'll be enjoyed by everybody in the house.  Even the kitty when he was a tiny little baby liked spending time in the bookshelf (before he grew too big to fit in there easily).

It may seem obvious but I don't feel like enough people take advantage of it - a wonderful place to get books is your local library!  The closest library to my office is small but has a very decent selection of books.  I've used it to borrow knit/crochet stitch dictionaries, photography, home improvement books etc.  Even better, it has a small bookstore where used books that are no longer in circulation, or were donated by local residents, are sold.  Paperback novels are as cheap as 25 cents.  Hardbacks are $1 and more specialty books anywhere from $3-$10 on average.  Most importantly though, any money that the library earns through the book sales goes back into the library fund to buy new books for regular circulation.  This is what I snagged today for the bargain price of $2.50!

Do you generally support your local library?  If so, what do you love about it?

There are other places that I go to get cheap books...but I'll be saving those tips for a later date.