Broke? Here's some tips for free books.

So, if you're like me you want to buy ALL THE BOOKS, but you simply don't have the funds to do so. And yet, since I started blogging last June, I've almost filled up an entire bookshelf. I promise you, I don't have the type of money to buy books willy-nilly. I'm here to tell you how to pack your shelves without breaking the bank.

So you really want to spend your money:
First of all, if you're going to be spending money then do it wisely. You can sign up for emails from Barnes and Noble and they'll send you coupons and such.
Half Price Books is another good one. Their books are cheap to begin with, but they often send out coupons in both email and regular mail. Even if you don't have an actual Half Price in your town, they have a really cheap online marketplace. You can probably get emails from your local bookstore too.
Keep an eye out for going-out-of-business-sales. This one is less likely to happen, but I got a lot of books for cheap when Borders went out of business.
Goodwill. I can't stress this one enough. I've gotten quite a few books there for dirt cheap. Make sure to check other second-hand stores too. You never know where you might find a cheap gem (this includes garage sales).

I've heard tale of a place where all the books are free...:
I simply cannot stress this one enough. If you think you hate libraries, try a different one. Seriously, libraries are my life saver. The library is like a book lover's candy store. You can go in and grab all the books you want and then leave and the only thing you have to remove from your wallet is your library card!

So you want your books for free and you want to keep them:

Now, these aren't going to guarantee you a book, but I promise you they work. It usually takes maybe 2 minutes out of your day and then you have a chance at a free book. I've probably filled at least a good third of my bookshelf with books I've won. Somebody has to win those giveaways, and it won't be you if you don't at least try! There's always tons of giveaways around the blogosphere, so if you're diligent, you can find plenty. Please, don't be a jerk and follow someone for the extra contest entries and then immediately unfollow them after. That's just rude.
Goodreads does giveaways and I've actually won two things from it, but only one ever arrived, so do with that what you will.

Be a part of a book community AND get cool stuff:
RandomBuzzers is a fantastic bookish community created by the folks over at Random House. It's a great place to interact with bookish people as well as earn points towards books and swag. They also host plenty of giveaways of their own. I recently just won an ARC of Starters and ordered a The Phantom Tollbooth poster.

Get payed to sit on your bum:
If you're willing to give a little more of your time to your computer, there are a few reward sites that let you earn points towards things like gift cards. And what do gift cards buy? That's right, book. I've been using My View and SuperPoints lately and I'm super close to a Barnes and Noble gift card with the former. With My View, they match you with surveys and you earn points for completing them. SuperPoints gives you the option of completing "offers" as well as just using the Super Lucky Button. The offers usually require a good bit of work or for you to buy something, but the Super Lucky Button is completely free. You can even work towards PayPal credit on SP which I plan to do so I can buy books through Powell's :]
Both sites require minimal effort to earn points and are easy enough to accomplish while you're watching tv.
Please let me send you guys an email for My View if you want to join. Just leave your email in the comments and I'll send you one straightaway :]

You may notice a significant lack ARC mentions on this list. This is due to the simple fact that I don't think ARCs are something you should go around getting just because they're "free". They require a lot of work from a lot of people and shouldn't be taken lightly.