You buy a book, you read it and then it sits on a shelf. What are the chances you’ll read it again? Maybe someone else would like to read it.

Check out PaperBackSwap and swap books with other members. You list books you’re willing to swap in exchange for credits. Use the credits to order books you want from a list of 1,468,035. All you pay is the postage to send out books (which is paid for you when you order books). The books you receive are yours to keep or pass on when you’re done.  You can also check out BookMooch, which is a similar service. Or just do an informal swap with friends, perhaps even planning out book purchases together so they don’t overlap.

It’s a great way to reuse instead of buying new. Of course, it takes energy to ship books back and forth, so you’re local library is still the most eco-friendly way to book swap. But if you can’t find a book you really want at the library, give a book swap a try.