Another year, another wrap up on my bookish “spending.” If you’re new here, a few years ago I challenge myself to spend $0 on books for one year. It was liberating and forced me to read from local libraries and be more active in sharing hardcopies of books. Since then, I developed the habit of shopping on Libby instead of on Amazon or a local retailer.
How did I read in 2024?
I am almost exclusively a digital reader (ebooks/audiobooks). Majority of the ebooks read, where read on Libby. I also read ARCS and listened to books on Audible. I posted a full list of what I read at the bottom of this post.
Where am I spending money for books?
Audible. In this bookish world of spending, subscriptions, like Audible, Kindle Unlimited, etc. are one way to get most bang for your buck.
Okay, let’s look at the break down.
I read a total of 63 books this year, these titles are valued at $695.29.
Total value of library loans read $269.02
Total value of Audible titles read $232.47. I used the membership price to calculate this number.
Total value of ARCs $98.88
Total cost of books I bought $90.94
Total value of Prime Reading books $3.98
What does all of this mean?
You can read a lot for free and using reading subscription platforms like Audible. You don’t have to spend hundreds to thousands of dollars a year to enjoy reading. By no means am I telling you to stop collecting beautiful special editions, or to stop building your personal libraries. But if you are looking for a way to enjoy reading without breaking the bank, it is totally possible.
The value of books read in 2024 is less than in 2023. However, I read close to the same amount of books. What changed? I read a handful of classic short stories and plays that are free to read. If you are interested in reading classic books, many are posted for free online. I know classics are not everyone’s favorite titles to read, but they are almost always free to read. I also noticed when I began collecting data, many titles were on sale for the holidays. I am not going to adjust the numbers. Be aware that many of the books I read this year have been on sale since Thanksgiving.
How does this affect my reading for 2025?
I plan to explore the membership benefits available on Audible. I will continue to read from libraries. I also want to find more used bookstores in my area.
Check out my other “spending” post:
Wrapping Up the year: $1019.38 in books
Wrapping Up The Year 2022: I “spent” $546.94 On Books This Year!
So what did I read this year?
Here is a full list of what I read this year. Each title is hyperlinked to the Amazon listing I used. I used these listings to calculate the totals for this year. I typed this in Google Sheets, sorry for typos.
If you made it this far, how did you reading go in 2024?
Lit Lemon Books 
As a librarian, I appreciate you sharing the amount you saved by visiting your public library.
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Always!!! I hope to encourage at least one person to check out their local library
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Thank you!
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This is a great idea! I get 90% of my reads from a public library and would be curious to see what tallies to, especially as I’ve noticed new adult hardcovers are going for around $42 (Canadian) these days 🥲
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