My goal this year is to read 200 books, but there’s no way I could even dream up that number if I didn’t have access to a library. Not only am I saving money, but I have access to books I never even imagined I’d read, let alone discover if I wasn’t browsing the shelves!

So far, I’ve read 77 audiobooks, 57 in print, and 16 E-books. For titles of each category I used the following sources to research estimated pricing:

• Audiobooks: The first audiobook of each month is estimated at $14.95, the monthly membership price for Audible. Each remaining book was listed at the current Audible price less the 30% membership discount.
• Print: Books available on Thriftbooks were listed at used book prices, but since I mainly read new releases, most books in print are listed with the current price on Amazon.
• E-Books: All E-books are listed with the current price on Amazon Kindle.

In total, I’ve read an estimated $2,080.03 worth of books so far this year! That’s amazing! There’s no way I could actually spend that kind of money on books. If I didn’t have access to a library, my reading habits would be entirely different. For starters, bye-bye audiobooks, I’d definitely have to stick to the monthly credit on Audible, and second, I would never be able to read as many new releases as I do now. My estimates don’t even include my usual book break-ups or the countless number of books I actually check-out from the library each month! I’m always browsing the online catalog and walking through the shelves to discover new titles and genres, and while I usually end up reading the entirety of the book I check-out, a lot of them I don’t. I would never be able to have this kind of freedom without my neighborhood library.

A big thank you to the Houston Public Library for supporting my love of reading, you guys are doing an amazing job and I’m so thankful to have such a wonderful library system available where I live!!

Are you a library reader? How much have you saved (read) this year?