Dear ,

If you're looking for new ways to save in the New Year, a good place to start is your local library.

Many libraries now buy eBooks (and software programs, movies, albums, video games, and other digital goods) for their patrons to borrow. If you haven't borrowed digital items before, now is the perfect time to start putting these programs to use. Here's how...

Borrowing eBooks Through Public Libraries

(With or Without a Local Library Card)

If you have a library card, call your local branch and ask them how to access their eBooks. Most use a service like Overdrive or Hoopla. You might have to download a free app, like Libby, to access the files. Your local librarian can help you through the steps.

Sometimes, your library will have a program but not many books. Patrons might have to wait a long time or settle for a small selection of titles. Instead, you might ask if you can request eBooks through interlibrary loan. (Some can and will, and it isn't a burden on them at all.)

You can also request that your library order books you want to read. For instance, Apparition in the Kitchen and Phantom in the Family Room by Katie O'Keene.😁

You might not have a library card too. Not everyone who wants one can get one. You might not have the documents you need, or you might not be able to pay the fee. Just getting to the library to apply can be a burden. Thankfully, there are a few options.

First, be sure to visit the website of your local library. Some sites now offer Instant Digital Library Cards that patrons receive just by entering a phone number. Not every library offers this service, but it was instrumental in assigning an extra 600,000 cards last year alone.

If that isn't an option for you, most states have at least one library that will provide residents with a free library card without having to apply in-person. Most, but not all, of these can be used to access digital goods. Read more here.

Some libraries have invested so much in their digital stock that they've invited people from all over the country (and sometimes, the world) to apply for a card. Read more on them here. These generally cost $25 - $75 per year. Because of the number of resources they have available, these can be an even better bargain than subscription services like Kindle Unlimited or Scribd .

Foraging for Free eBooks in the Wild

It's not a problem if library life isn't for you. Authors sometimes run free promotions on older books as a way to find new readers. There are a few trusted sites where you can find these offers, such as:

Freebooksy

RobinReeds

Fussy Librarian

ENT

BookBub

Fans of cozy mysteries can also sign up for the 2022 Cozy Mystery Reading Challenge hosted over Facebook that provides you with 3 books for people to read each month, some of which will be free. Sign up here.

You can also follow your favorite authors for periodic recommendations for freebies, like this one...

Burdock, Burglary, and Beltane's Eve

Familiars, Mysteries & Furballs, Book 1

by Agnes Reed

It's Blaise's favourite time of the year, what could go wrong?

With the Great Feast, stories of ancestors around the Grand Fire and celebratory dancing around the Maypole, Beltane’s Eve had always been Blaise’s favourite festival.

However, this year’s promise of good fortune is exchanged with the promise of impending murder.

When a rare, precious and poisonous potion ingredient is stolen from Sally and Kolton’s Apothecary & Potion Store, Blaise, Sally’s familiar, knows it’s a race against time to find the thief.

Can Blaise track down the missing ingredient before it’s used to murder and harness the victim’s powers?

(Contains British English spelling and usage)

New Year. New You. New books to read. Look to borrowing and free promotions to discover more books for less.

Until next time,

Katie O'Keene ☆