How I Read 100 Books For Free In 2022

by A Purple Life, posted in Finance, Hobbies, Spending
This post may contain affiliate links. For more info read my disclosure.

I originally set out to not have goals in retirement – and I failed spectacularly at my goal to not have goals 🙂 . In 2021 I set out to read 52 non-fiction books after almost a decade of often being too tired to read after work and expand my mind.

Well, I accomplished that goal:

…and it was fucking HARD 🙂 . I picked books that interested me, regardless of the length of book or density of the subject matter and as a result, reading one of those books a week was a challenge while living my life, but one I was happy I had undertaken after it was done.

The Goal

As a result of that goal, I wanted 2022 to be less intense, especially since I was also going to attempt to learn a language in 1 year (Spoiler: I did it 😉 ). So last year I just accepted the Goodreads default goal of reading 52 total books in 2022.

However, I quickly realized that that goal was a little too easy:

And finally, with a little extra effort – I hit a new goal that I never could have dreamed of when I was working:

I read 100 books in 2022. How did I do this without going bankrupt 😉 ?

Free Books

I bet you guessed the answer 🙂 : The Public Library! I love libraries so much and in the digital age, you don’t need to be in a city to get a library book. I am still a Washington State resident and a part of the Seattle Public Library. They have an abundant catalog of e-books and that is how I read 100 books for free.

When I learned about a new book I wanted to read, I would immediately put it on Hold on my Libby App so that by the time I finished the books I’m currently reading, another hold would be available so there was no gap in my reading options.

A Kindle Library Hack

You might be wondering how I was able to read books as they become available because if you’re like me, usually 1 book is available and then a week later, ALL 10 BOOKS are suddenly available and you have 21 days to read all of them.

Well in case you haven’t heard of it, there’s a little trick to having all the time in the world to read library books: Put your e-reader in Airplane Mode and don’t connect it to WiFi until you’re done reading all 10 books. Sneaky sneaky 🙂 .

In fact, I accidentally left my Kindle on airplane mode for 6 months once and when I turned the WiFi back on, all those library books were still there even though they had expired…I’m not sure what that’s about.

Lessons Learned

Reading 2 books a week in 2022 taught me a few things about myself, my reading habits and how I approach goals. Let’s explore them!

Options

I found it easier to read 100 books in 2022 than 52 non-fiction books in 2021 because I wasn’t limiting myself and because I read fiction a lot faster than non-fiction. With fiction, I rarely need to pause and re-read sections to make sure I understand the new concepts that are being presented to me.

Non-fiction definitely takes longer and can be more of an effort to read and understand properly. I often read a fiction book in a day – if it’s very good I can’t put it down and luckily don’t have to until I’m done (another benefit of retirement 🙂 ) . So having the option to read fiction definitely helped with this goal.

Portability

The other thing that helped was the fact that I read multiple books at once. I usually have at least 1 fiction and 1 non-fiction going at any one time and one thing I found helpful was having one of those on my phone and one on my Kindle – or at times having both of the books on my phone and Kindle. Being able to whip out my phone when waiting a few minutes for a friend at a coffee shop for example, helped me get in reading time when I wouldn’t necessarily have brought my Kindle with me.

Environment

Related to always having a fiction and non-fiction book available to me, I learned something strange about my reading preferences last year. I prefer to read fiction alone where I won’t be interrupted since it feels like lightly ripping me out of the world to pay attention to the real one.

With non-fiction, I don’t have that problem and as a result, I prefer to read non-fiction when I’m around people. If a group of us is hanging out in a living room for example, I’ll pull out a non-fiction book and chat along with everyone else as the opportunity arises. It’s a lot easier for me to pause reading a non-fiction book than a fiction one so I made a point to have a non-fiction book on my phone for moments like this or to intentionally bring my Kindle.

Deadlines

This lesson actually extends beyond books, but to do something, I need a deadline. I suspect other humans are similar because every time my partner and I moved, we would have more visitors in the last few months than we did in previous years combined 🙂 .

And I’m the same way with library books. Something could be available to borrow for years – and I wouldn’t get it. So as I mentioned, I place holds on books as soon as I know I want to read them. Then when they are available, I have that feeling of scarcity and the knowledge that I would have to wait even more time for the opportunity to read this again. I also have a literal ticking clock for when the book would be returned to the library working against me. I found that this was the best way to tackle my reading list even before embarking on these challenges.

Just knowing I want to do something doesn’t allow me to make time in my busy 😉 schedule to do it. There are too many birds to identify and sunsets to watch 🙂 . Giving myself those guardrails kept me on track.

Conclusion

And that’s how I read 100 books for free in 2022! Assuming the average paperback costs $15, I saved $1500 by using the wonderful services of the Public Library and the books they purchase from these lovely authors. This year I’m planning to personally purchase a few of my favorite books from 2022 to gift to others.

Money aside though, this was a fun challenge I kind of stumbled into. In 2023 I’m being more serious about sticking to the default 1 book a week goal, but it’s the 7th week of 2023 and I’ve already read 13 books sooo maybe I’m going to fail at that goal too 😉 . If you’re curious about what I’m reading and my ratings of these books, I have a Goodreads account you can check out here.

What were your favorite books in 2022?

22 thoughts on “How I Read 100 Books For Free In 2022”

  1. I love this post so much and anything to do with reading. I read 12 books last year working and that was my record 😂 I’ve only read one book so far this year but this is the push to get back at it

    Reply

    1. YAY!!! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂 . And 12 while working is very impressive – that’s more than I did most years. You’ve got this!

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  2. You should have consulted with me. You could have summed up your approach with just a single word: library!

    I, too, read voraciously. Libraries are great 🙂 Not only do they save you money on book purchases, they save you a massive headache when it comes to storage space as well.

    Reply

    1. Haha – next time 😉 . Someone asked me the other day on Instagram how I read so much without going over my budget so I thought it would be a good idea to remind people about the awesomeness libraries have to offer. Very true on storage space as well – eBooks are a key part of my nomad life for sure.

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  4. Love this! I also get all my books from SPL. I also am now in 2 book clubs which is a great motivation to read more and you get to discuss with people 🙂

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    1. That’s awesome! How do your clubs choose books? I’ve been a part of 2 formal book clubs in the past and that was a challenge.

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  5. The airplane mode trick is a good one!! It’s also usually possible to freeze your holds so you float to the top of the list, but don’t actually get the book until you reactivate your hold (or you hit the date you chose for it to become active). I use that trick a lot, especially if I’m reading a series of books and want to be sure I get them in order.

    You can’t always tell for sure you’re at the top of the list (because 10 people ahead of you may also have frozen holds, so you think you’re #11) but it helps prevent that flood of 10 books arriving at once 🙂

    I think most library software systems allow freezing & managing holds, but I don’t know if you can do it from Libby or if you have to log into your holds via the library web page.

    I just read and REALLY liked The Animators. I also read and liked Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow – but both books have similar themes (creativity, friendship, creating with friends, dealing with success) and I preferred The Animators. They’re both good but I recommend reading them with some distance between.

    Reply

    1. Yeah! I do choose “deliver later” by a few days if I’m not ready for a hold – I don’t know if that’s the freezing you’re talking about. I can do that in the Libby app though.

      Those books look awesome! Thank you for the recommendations.

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  6. I also have a challenge for reading, but mine is to ‘earn back’ the money I pay each year on council rates by reading books from my local library. This is the 4th year I’ve been doing it and it’s really motivating to think that the cash I pay the council is actually going to buy books. I put the challenge on the sidebar of the blog and keep track of it that way.
    Last year my rates (including dog registration) were $2,350. I made it all back by January! (Like you, I read a lot of fiction and I read quickly.)
    My grand total for the year was 120 books. This means that I’m already a few hundred dollars into the next year’s challenge – which I won’t find the total to until September. Maybe in a year or two I’ll end up being a whole year ahead?!?

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  8. I love my local library! I love my local (and Independent) book store too, but most books I don’t need to keep once I’m done, so the library is always my go-to

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    1. Yeah it’s a lovely place. Since I bounce around and don’t necessarily want to carry extra stuff I have enjoyed bookshop.org as a way to support local bookstores even if I order online.

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  9. I NEVER buy books and now I’m in my mid 30s with more $ and a home… setting out to change that! Time to actually build a wee collection of some of my fave reads 🙂 The library will still be my go to tho, OBVS

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  10. Fantastic goal, well done for achieving it! I too find fiction much quicker to read. I set a goal last year to set up a reading habit – a physical book or Kindle book, in bed, read at least a few sentences each day before going to sleep. It usually turns into several pages or a chapter. I used to read all the time as a kid, but as an adult hardly ever do it unless I make the time for it. This habit is now well-entrenched and it’s brought reading back into my life, which is what I wanted. Not many English libraries near me, I miss them! They’re invaluable!

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  11. That airplane mode trick is fire. I always have the problem that my due date comes before I get to finish!! (P.S. Isn’t getting library books for free the awesomest? I don’t know if you know this, but you can also download 5 free songs per week through the library as well. Like, TO KEEP! Mind blown.)

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    1. Right 🙂 ?!?! And yeah they’re so awesome. And TO KEEP?! I did not know that – Thank you! I’m gonna to look into that ASAP.

      Reply

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