Book clubs

If you’re an avid reader and checking books out of your local library just isn’t your style, perhaps you should consider joining a book club. A lot of people have negative impressions of book clubs but they can be quite convenient and worthwhile to some people. Sure, getting the monthly catalogs and having to return a postcard can be a nuisance. However, most book clubs will now allow you to respond online and you don’t have to worry about mailing anything back or getting unwanted books shipped to you simply because you didn’t return the postcard quickly enough. In fact, everything through most book clubs can be done online. Sometimes you’ll find better savings online than you do in the catalogs that are sent to you via the regular mail.

Most often, you’ll get a bunch of books free up front just for joining. You’ll pay shipping and that’s it. Usually, books from book clubs are all hardcover, which means that getting those books for free is a great deal. Of course, you’re usually then obligated to buy a few more books within a certain time frame in order to complete your membership. Considering the fact that the prices are usually pretty good in the first place, fulfilling that obligation isn’t too difficult. Books make great gifts, so you can always fulfill your obligation by purchasing them as gifts for family and friends.

I belong to a book club. Every few weeks, I get advertisements or catalogs from them, so they do create quite a bit of extra garbage for my cans. I always respond online and have never had any issues. I’ve always paid my bills online when I place an order as well. My orders have always been correct and I’ve always been satisfied with the service that I’ve gotten from them. I fulfilled my obligation in no time and last Christmas, managed to get my father a collector’s book that just thrilled him to tears. I couldn’t believe that the book club would have it, but I searched their site online and found it. That’s another great thing about book clubs – browsing online always finds more titles than they send in their catalogs. You’re not so limited to your selections.

Years after joining a book club, I have quite the collection of books in my house. I hate to part with books, but after they start to pile up, I’ll sell them at a garage sale, pass them onto my friends or donate them to a library. In my opinion, a book is never a bad investment. And book clubs just may be a worthwhile investment of your time, if you’re as huge a book lover as I am.