Did that headline catch your attention? Actually, it is an apt analogy. Just hear me out…

Readers, like all other consumers, love a deal. That’s why websites like BookBub are so popular with eBook readers.  Each day in your email inbox they send you what’s on sale or free in the genre you love to read.

But what happens when you discover a new favorite author or series—and the other books by that author or in that series aren’t on sale? I suppose you could wait around for them to go on sale, but you may be waiting a long time. And it’s possible some of those books will never go on sale.

Some thrifty readers turn to pirate websites or shady Facebook groups where pirated copies of the book are passed around.

The most obvious problem with that, it is stealing.  Yep. People who do that may not think of themselves as thieves, but that’s what they are. Some may try to justify it by saying eBooks are too expensive anyway. I knew a woman once who used to steal makeup (when I say woman, I mean a woman in her sixties, no teenager) because she insisted it was too expensive—not that she couldn’t afford it, but she didn’t agree with the prices charged.  Whatever her justification, she was still a thief. Just like those people who pass around pirated copies of books.

There is another problem with downloading from pirate sites—and this gets back to the headline of this article. Viruses.  Yep. Pirate sites are often not about giving you a free book as much as it is about giving you a virus or trojan.

And for the record, while a Trojan might protect someone having sex, it means something completely different when it comes to downloading files.

So, what do you do if you just can’t afford to buy that book that you would love to read?

The library.

Just today I received a message from a fan who has read all the books in the Haunting Danielle series, and she hasn’t bought them. She downloaded the eBooks from her local library. She told me when the library didn’t have one of the books, she requested it and they got it in for her!

It’s relatively easy to check out free eBooks from your library, and much safer (and more honest) than downloading them from a pirate site. Plus, it makes the author—you know, the one who is entertaining you with the story—smile knowing his/her books are at the library.

First, you need to get an old fashion library card from your local library. When you do this and tell them you want to check out eBooks, they will typically give you a pin number. The great thing about checking out eBooks from your library, you can do it from the comfort of your home.

I use OverDrive to check out eBooks from the library. It’s an app I downloaded to my devices. When I open the app, I first select my library. It then gives me a login screen where I insert the email address and pin number my library has on me. Once you log in, you can start checking out books.

If the library doesn’t have the book you are looking for, request it, just like my reader did.

Oh, and don’t thank me, thank Ben Franklin. The lending library was his idea.