One positive to come out of quarantine is that I’ve gotten back into reading, which is one of my favorite hobbies but one I tend not to keep up with during the school year as I spend most of my time studying with friends in the library and take evening classes so by the time I finally get back to my room I’m exhausted. Now that I’m home, I’m finding more time to set aside to focus on myself and my hobbies which has been refreshing!
However, one downside to all of this is that I can’t go out to the library to borrow a book and I’m not a fan of e-readers (bad eyesight + tiny screen = a no from me). Buying hard copies of books can get very expensive very fast, especially when you’re a broke college kid. After looking at books from Target, I started getting book-related ads on my Instagram which is how I came across BookOutlet. I was immediately pulled in when I saw that they offered books for 50-90% off of retail prices and decided to look into purchasing from them.
But how are the books so cheap? Each book is marked with a small Sharpie line or dot on the bottom of the book when publishers sell excess inventory and returns. That’s it. The books are all new and unread. I will admit that I’m picky about my books, I like being able to see them in-store and pick out the best-looking copy so I wasn’t sure how I would feel about these. However, the line is small and on the bottom of the book where no one will see it.
There are tons of different genres on the website with everything from children’s books to cookbooks and YA novels. You can search by topic or sort through the most bought. I was able to find two books that were on my to be read list as well as another book I picked because the synopsis sounded interesting. The books arrived a little over a week after I ordered them and they were all in great condition.
I would say that the only downside is that if you are looking for a specific title, you might not be able to find it. I searched for quite a few books I had on my to be read list and many weren’t available. However, I did end up discovering a new favorite book! I also love that you can view the Top 200 books as everyone is bound to find something they’re interested in there.
If you’re trying to get back into reading but don’t want to spend a fortune, I definitely recommend checking out BookOutlet. P.S. If you’re looking for recommendations, I bought Five Feet Apart, Playing with Matches and In the Neighborhood of True and loved all of them!