books, books and more books

As I said in my post on school supplies, if there is one thing homeschoolers have in great quantities, it is books. As a bibliophile, I don't mind this type of shopping in the least. However, to save money, I don't buy very many books at full price. According to the receipts I kept in the front pocket of my notebook, these are some of the resources I frequently utilize for buying books:

The Public Library - Our curriculum uses mostly classic literature. I can often find the books I need at the used book sale our public library holds each month.  The children's books (which many of the classics are listed under) sell for 25 cents each.  I keep a mental list of the books we need (though a physical list would keep me from buying duplicates) and can usually pick up a couple each month.

Year 6 books purchased for 25 cents each

Ebay - If I can remember to start looking early enough in the year, I make a "saved search" for some of the more obscure books we need for the coming year. These are out-of-print (OOP) books or books that are too costly to purchase new. It usually takes a few months to get them at a price I'm willing to pay, so I have to start my search early.

Amazon - You can, of course, buy new and used books at Amazon.com. It is very easy to do and I have been mostly happy with my used book purchases through their listings. There are many other online used book sellers - half.com; abebooks.com, thriftbooks.com, alibris.com, powells.com - but I try to keep it simple. We have also invested in a Kindle. Many of the classic books in Kindle format are available for free. One homeschooling mother has compiled a list of Ambleside Online books for Kindle that makes searching for these even easier.

Rainbow Resource Center - The is the go-to place for homeschool materials. Created by and run by a homeschooling family, their site is an amazing resource for parents and educators everywhere. Nearly everything they carry has been reviewed at length. The website also has pictures of the backs and insides of the books which is very helpful when trying to make decisions. Their prices are often cheaper than Amazon's listed price, so I comparison shop very closely to get the best deal possible.

Occasionally, I will buy directly from the publisher. This usually only happens if they do not offer their books at other online retailers or have specially priced packages.  I have purchased science curriculum from NOEO Science, history curriculum from Classical Home Education and, most recently, literature guides from Memoria Press.