Tuesday, April 12, 2011
BOGO
 If you're looking to buy the latest 39 Clues book (which was pretty awesome, by the way), you might want to pick it up at a Barnes and Noble. My local store was offering a deal where if you bought Vespers Rising, you also got a free copy of the 39 Clues Agent Handbook. I'm not sure what non-game-playing readers (like me) would DO with an agent handbook, but it might make a nice Easter gift for somebody...? Labels: 39 Clues, Kids' books, Series, Wordcandy on the cheap
Friday, March 11, 2011
39 Clues on a budget
 If you've never read the best-selling 39 Clues series, I noticed a "buy one, get the next for half price" deal at my local Barnes and Noble. I don't know if the deals will get better or worse as we get closer to the April 5th release of Vespers Rising (the 11th 39 Clues book), but a series-wide 25% off isn't a bad price (particularly since there only seems to be one Complete Boxed Set left on Amazon). Labels: Kids' books, Series, Wordcandy on the cheap
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Trendy and cheap!
 Budget-minded readers take note: UrbanOutfitters' sale section is currently boasting loads of heavily-discounted and hipster-friendly reading material, including the recent reprints of the first three Sweet Valley High books for $1.99 each*, Emilie Baltz's Junk Foodie (also $1.99), and April Winchell's Regretsy ($4.99). *Which is still more than they're worth, but whatever. Labels: Shopping, Wordcandy on the cheap
Thursday, January 20, 2011
What people want to read... when it's free.
 TresSugar has provided us with a list of last week's top 10 ten free e-Book downloads, according to Project Gutenberg. I was okay with the fact that I haven't read all ten of these books (particularly since so many of them are international classics), but I'm a little distressed to realize I've never even heard of Elsie Lincoln Benedict and Ralph Paine Benedict's How To Analyze People on Sight: The Five Human Types. Labels: ebooks, Wordcandy on the cheap
Thursday, December 23, 2010
A gift from Scholastic to you...
 The fine people at Scholastic have made Alexandra Bullen's YA novel Wish available as a free e-book download. From now until January 3rd, click here to read Wish in its entirety. (You can also preview Ms. Bullen's upcoming sequel, Wishful Thinking, should you be so inclined.) Enjoy! Labels: ebooks, teen literature, Wordcandy on the cheap
Friday, October 15, 2010
I'm sure this would brighten up anyone's holiday morning.
 If you're a fan of those Worst-Case Scenario books, or you've got a lot of small boys to shop for, check out this deal from the Chronicle Books website: they're offering 25% off and free shipping on their The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Gross Junior Edition*, plus a free jar of slime. What more could you ask for? * Note that this book includes a list of the "Top Ten Grossest Moments in History". That means it's educational, too!Labels: Wordcandy on the cheap
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Textbooks on the cheap...er
 Good news for poor college students (particularly college students who have to pay zillions of dollars for those textbooks that will be out of date about .6 seconds after they pay $95 for 'em): Barnes & Noble announced Monday that it is expanding its textbook rental program. The program began as a pilot earlier this year, and is offered through campus bookstores managed by the bookseller. Users have the option of renting via campus bookstores or online, and the books are offered for at least 50 percent off the purchase price of a new copy. Labels: Booksellers, schools, Wordcandy on the cheap
Friday, July 09, 2010
Used books on the cheap
 Dude, this sounds so cool: the online used-book retailer Once Sold Tales has opened a brick-and-mortar store (well, less bricks and mortar and more a corner of one of their warehouses, but whatever) where they sell books for a flat $1 a pound. You'll have to make your way to the wilds of Kent, WA to visit, but if you're in the area... Labels: Booksellers, Used books, Wordcandy on the cheap
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
We approve.
 As longtime readers of the site know, I love reading about frugality. Sadly, Wordcandy hardly ever receives books on this subject, which means I have to either wait patiently for library copies or actually buy the books myself. This is particularly irritating when the cheapskate how-to guide in question is only, say, 190 pages and published as a $30 hardcover. Anyway, this is why I was so pleased to read Salon.com's interview with Jeff Yeager, whose recent book The Cheapskate Next Door is a solid 256 pages and costs $12.99*. I like to see people practicing what they preach, you know? *Note: Still too expensive for me to actually buy, but we're getting closer. Try <$5, guys. Labels: Interviews, Money, Wordcandy on the cheap
Monday, March 29, 2010
Sorry, Canada!
 I ran across an interesting article about the difference between American and Canadian book prices. Canadians pay approximately 30% more per book, despite the fact that the Canadian and American dollar have been hovering at basically the same level since 2007. Some of that cost is due to a Canadian import law that allows American publishers to slap a 10% markup on books sold in Canada (to offset import costs and shipping and handling fees), but the remaining 20% is apparently pure tough luck. Labels: Bookstores, Money, Wordcandy on the cheap
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Awesomeness on sale
Powell's Books in Oregon is currently offering several of Penguin's Deluxe Classic Editions at 30% off. I'm not sure if it's just the crappy January weather making all of my old books look sad and washed-out, but these deliciously lurid editions seem to speak to my very soul (even more so than they usually do). I just want to curl up somewhere in front of a fire and read one of 'em, drinking hot chocolate out of a mug the size of a bucket:    Labels: Book Covers, Powell's Books, Wordcandy on the cheap
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Adios, allowance.
 I've never approved of Holly Black and Tony Diterlizzi's Spiderwick Chronicles. At $10.99 per (short and v. unsatisfying) book, the series has always seemed like a total money sink. But when I saw a collected version of the first five Spiderwick books I thought I might check it out... until I saw the price tag. It's still listed at thirty dollars! For a 569-page-long kids' book! For the purposes of comparison, you could buy: A) A boxed set of the first three books in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan for $19.99,
B) The complete boxed set of the Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins for $32.95, or
C) A boxed set of the first five Artemis Fowl books by Eoin Colfer for $35.00... ...all three of which would be a much, much, much better value. I'm just sayin'. Labels: Holly Black, Kids' books, Wordcandy on the cheap
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Good deal
 Sears is currently offering an unusual deal via its website: if you buy any of these featured titles on Sears.com, Walmart.com, Amazon.com, or Target.com, you can receive a store credit for the purchase price (up to $9) that you can use immediately on your next purchase of $45 or more from the Sears website. This promotion is part of the Sears program " Keep America Reading". I'm not sure how often the featured titles will change (they're currently the top 10 pre-selling books) or how long the promotion will run, but this might be a great way to kick off your holiday shopping! [Via a heads-up from Rachel. Thanks, Rachel!] Labels: Promotions, Wordcandy on the cheap
Monday, October 05, 2009
A manga in the hand...
 If you don't like reading manga online, the paperback copy of the first volume of Rin-ne, the latest work from Rumiko Takahashi, will be out on October 20th. I've really been enjoying this series (although I suspect some of the humor isn't translating well), so I might pick up a copy even though I've been following the chapters online via the Rumic World site. Labels: manga, Rumiko Takahashi, Upcoming Books, Wordcandy on the cheap
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
A gift from Lisa Kleypas
 (Is it just me, or has Lisa Kleypas's website gotten more tasteful again? Man, don't you guys miss it back when it looked like this? Good times...) Anyway, if you take a gander at Ms. Kleypas's site, she's celebrating the release of her new book, the just-out-today Tempt Me at Twilight, by offering readers a free short story. Details are available on her homepage and the price couldn't be righter, so enjoy! Labels: Lisa Kleypas, Wordcandy on the cheap
Monday, September 21, 2009
A literary take on San Francisco
Apartment Therapy wrote a post last week featuring the following print:  This image of San Francisco was commissioned by the San Francisco Chronicle. Artist Ian Huebert borrowed literary quotes from a number of different authors, combining them into a colorful map of the city. Best of all, this sucker is free. All you have to do is download it and print it out! Labels: Art, Wordcandy on the cheap
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Must be dorm-decorating season
Today's the last day for AllPosters.com's big poster sale, which includes a couple of awesome Ralph Steadman illustrations from Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Behold:  If you're looking to cover up some blank walls, Steadman + a $4.98 price tag + free shipping on orders over $14.99 is hard to beat. Labels: Art, Wordcandy on the cheap
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Wordcandy (hearts) public libraries
 Once again, my local library has come through for me with their excellent books-on-CD selection. My family and I are heading off to the beach this week, and we'll be listening to the complete and unabridged audio version of Wendelin Van Draanen's Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief along the way. As longtime readers of the site know, I am a huge Van Draanen fan, and I am sincerely grateful to my library system for providing me with four hours of audio entertainment. If you don't spend much time at your local library (and a shocking number of bibliophiles never set foot in libraries, preferring to hang out in bookstores), do yourself a favor and trot on down. I can't speak for every library in the country, but most of 'em are clean, friendly, staffed by helpful, friendly librarians, and surprisingly well-stocked... with books that are free. Labels: Audio, Library news, Wendelin Van Draanen, Wordcandy on the cheap
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Anime for the masses
 Even more Wordcandy-on-the-cheap goodness! I just got a VIZ press release informing me that the first 32 episode of Rumiko Takahashi's Inuyasha are now available on Hulu, which means they are FREE. Thanks, VIZ! Thanks, Hulu! And (most of all) thanks, Takahashi-san! (Artwork-© Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan • Yomiuri TV • Sunrise 2000) Labels: manga, Wordcandy on the cheap
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
|
If you're looking to buy the latest 39 Clues book (which was pretty awesome, by the way), you might want to pick it up at a Barnes and Noble. My local store was offering a deal where if you bought Vespers Rising, you also got a free copy of the 39 Clues Agent Handbook. I'm not sure what non-game-playing readers (like me) would DO with an agent handbook, but it might make a nice Easter gift for somebody...?
