How to Build a Health Library Inexpensively

Books have been some of my best companions, teachers, therapists, and entertainers. No matter where I have lived, I have lived with books. Books used to be special purchases from independent bookstores and then they became cheap commodities at big box stores. Now you can even turn virtual pages on an electronic book.

I’ve not made the leap to electronic books. I still value the weight, smell, and page texture of books. And I’m notorious for writing and highlighting so that I can go back and easily find my favorite passages.

When I discovered PaperBack Swap (PBS) online, I overhauled and condensed my personal library. Despite the name, PBS is not for paperback books only. This is how it works:

It costs approximately $3 USD to mail one book via media mail to a requestor. Once that transaction is complete, you receive a credit in your account with which you can shop over 3 million books posted by other members.

I currently have a wishlist of nearly 500 titles. When they become available by another member and I’m next in line for the title, I’m notified of its availability and I can choose to receive it or not. It is sent at no expense to me.

In my closet I have a shelf of books I’ve put up for offer. When I am notified that a member wants one of my titles, I send it out using the postage and address label maker featured on PBS. Periodically I load $20 worth of postage into my PBS account to use and I am able to print the postage paid label from my home printer on regular paper. I reuse envelopes and packaging that I’ve received from other shipments (PBS or otherwise) so I rarely purchase new packaging for this endeavor.

In the meme below, note that 2 pieces of paper are not essential. I use one piece either printing just the label on the front or printing front and back with label on one side and book info on the back.

One of my favorite personal policies that I’ve acquired since joining PBS in 2012 is that I give myself a 50 page consideration trial. If I am not engrossed in a book by the first 50 pages then I let it go back up for trade. Since each book basically costs me only $3 each, I can afford to pass on the ones that don’t light me up. When I used to purchase new books from stores, I felt obligated to finish them based on the financial investment I had made. No longer! So many books, so little time!

One compromise I have had to make using PBS is that if there is any chance I’ll want to re-trade the book instead of keeping it, I have to refrain from writing or highlighting in the book as it deems the book un-tradable by PBS policies.

If I want a new title and I have to have it ASAP, I aim to purchase from an independent bookstore like Malaprops in Asheville, NC or Beaufort Bookstore in Beaufort, SC. Occasionally I’ll purchase used books from Amazon and once in a blue moon I’ll buy an impulse new book from Barnes & Noble when I’ve gone in there for something else.

If reducing, recycling, and revamping your personal library sounds good to you, give Paperback Swap a try! It’s an excellent way to stock up on all kinds of books including whole food vegan books & cookbooks. Just search by title or author. Here are one dozen fantastic options to get you started:

1. Any cookbook by The Happy Herbivore aka Lindsay S. Nixon
2. Any cookbook by Leanne Campbell, PhD
3. Any cookbook by Del Sroufe
4. Any cookbook by Dreena Burton
5. Any cookbook by Kim Campbell
6. Forks Over Knives cookbook
7. Anything by Brenda Davis, RD
8. Anything by Dr. Caldwell, Ann, Jane, or Rip Esselstyn
9. Anything by Dr. T. Colin Campbell
10. How Not to Die by Dr. Michael Greger
11. Any book by Dr. Neal Barnard
12. Books by Dr. John McDougall

Other book titles, authors, and websites can be referenced at Item #7 on this Getting Started on a Low Fat, Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet article.