Where to Find Great Deals on E-books
I’m still a little shocked at how a traditional paper-and-pen guy like myself has adapted to e-books. Last year, out of the 70 books I read, a whopping 57 of them were on Kindle.
But e-books can be expensive if you just download at random…sometimes costing even more than their print counterparts. So I employ several tactics to save some bucks on the books:
E-mail subscriptions
- Kindle Daily Deals. These are mostly not great titles with the occasional really good book thrown in. Nothing is over $5. The best e-mail of the week usually happens on Sunday, when Kindle offers a larger selection in certain genre. (A few weeks ago I scored several J.R.R. Tolkien books for three bucks or less.) To subscribe: click here, scroll down to the “Amazon Devices” section, toggle on “Kindle Daily Deals.”
- Pro tip: most of the “Daily Deals” are simply a slow-drip version of the “Monthly Deals,” which you can see beginning on the first day of the month. There are usually thousands of deals – again, mostly not-great titles – so I suggest clicking on the categories you most want and starting there.
- BookBub. Same as above, with the option of curating your genres so that you get more targeted titles. The vast majority of books are $1.99. To subscribe: click here to start your list.
- Gospel E-Books. All books are going to fall under the Christianity category. A surprising amount will have Amish romance themes, so if that’s your thing, knock thyself out. To subscribe: click here, enter your email address in the top right of the screen.
- Audible Daily Deal. This is of course not an e-book. But if you like the occasional audiobook, this option might be helpful. (A caveat: I’ve subscribed to this list for a few months now, and I’ve yet to find a title that actually intrigues me.) To subscribe: go to your Audible account (paid subscription not required), click on “Notifications,” check “Audible Daily Deals.”
If you choose to order a book from BookBub or Gospel E-Books, make sure you do so using the links they share. They receive a small affiliate commission from Amazon which keeps their services going.
Social media suggestions
I’ve found a few trusted voices that consistently deliver up great recommendations. I assume they’re doing the heavy lifting on our behalf by scouring some of the same links listed above.
- Barnabas Piper. One of the more prolific book-sharers out there, Barnabas usually posts 3-4 good titles per day. Follow him on Twitter.
- Trevin Wax. Usually posts 3-4 good titles per week. Follow him on Twitter.
- Tim Challies. Almost-daily deals of a highly-curated, highly-theological bent. See his recs page here.
If you choose to order a book from one of these guys, make sure you do so using the links they share. They receive a small affiliate commission from Amazon, so it’s an easy way to say thanks.
Free-to-borrow options
- Libby. I’ve told you before about this amazing app that puts your local library’s inventory at your fingertips. While e-books and audiobooks sometimes have a wait time, I’ve found that just about any popular title is up for grabs within a few days of requesting it. (Caveat: most titles / authors in niche topics – like religion – aren’t available, but just about any bestseller will be there.) Download it here.
- Prime Reading. If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can get unlimited access to a revolving catalog, as well as one free pre-release book per month, selected by the Amazon team. Click for more.
Create your own deal alert
- We’ve talked before about CamelCamelCamel, a site which utilizes your Amazon wish lists and notifies you whenever it gets at or below a deal of your choosing. Just add a Kindle book to your list (make sure you select Kindle rather than the hard copy), and CamelCamelCamel does the rest whenever it goes on sale.
Honorable mentions
These get their own category not because they’re any less of a bargain, but because I’ve not yet personally used them. A quick social media poll uncovered these sites that I didn’t realize had free / cheap deals:
- Logos. They give away a free e-book every month. Thanks to C.J. Moore for the heads up!
- Faithlife. Another free e-book per month, plus some incredible deals on some pretty good books. (Again, much thanks to C.J. Moore.)
