Books, books, and more books!

I am an avid reader... when I have time! I love all kinds of books, from mystery to romance to historical fiction to Harry Potter. One of my favorite things about going on vacation is that I have time to read! I have been known to read 3-4 novels in a week-long vacation. Chris and I went to Barnes and Noble tonight, and I picked up a few new books by Emily Giffin: Something Borrowed and Something Blue. I am so excited, because I found them for $6 a piece! Here's a few tips for buying cheap books.

1) Check out the Used Books section at your local bookstore. Our B&N has a fairly large section - although it tends to get picked over. The best deals are the mass market paperbacks. They used to be 50 cents, but now they are $1.00 - still, not a bad price.
2) Most Goodwill and Salvation Army second-hand stores have a book section. I have found LOTS of good books there! It does take some patience and several trips, typically- but you can't beat their prices.
3) Amazon.com sells new and used books at a discount! Many times, I'll find a book I want to read at B&N and check it on Amazon.com, first. Many popular books are selling used for less than a dollar. New/very popular books typically sell used for about 50% of the new price. I also sell my books here! I tend to keep my favorites, but if it was just so-so, I'll put it online. I actually just sold a book, Barefoot by Elin Hildebrand. I bought it for $13.99, read it, then sold it for $8 + a shipping credit. Not too bad!
4) The Library - I can't forget to mention the library. Nothing beats free! I typically end up with overdue fines, though.

Here's my current book list for the next month or so:
The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillippa Gregory
Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
Something Blue by Emily Giffin
Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner

I guess I'm on a bit of a chick-lit kick for the summer. The Other Boleyn Girl is actually turning out to be an excellent read. It's not my typical genre, but I'm glad I bought it!

These are some other authors I highly recommend: Sue Grafton, Janet Evonovich, Laura Wolf, Debbie Macomber, David Baldacci, John D. MacDonald, JK Rowling, and so many more. Do you have any recommendations for me? I love to check out new series/authors!