Bookshop of the Month ~ Books for Free

This month I have to feature Books for Free as my bookshop of the month. Not because it's the
coolest or the most swazy, but because of its mission - to recycle unwanted books by redistributing them to local communities for free. Yes, you read that right - FOR FREE.

Books for Free Centres are not libraries or your regular bookshop where you can sit have a read and watch the world go by. Although the idea is that you shop - you browse the ever-changing stock, pick what you like most and take it home - the difference is: it won't cost you a penny and you can take a maximum of 3 books at a time. So if you are a book lover, but struggle to buy books on your student budget or low salary (we all know the feeling the economic downturn has had on our wallets!) this is perfect.

The centers are run by volunteers and the idea is to save unwanted books from the scrape pile while making owning them accessible to anyone who loves to read. Of course, there are dents. The stock changes constantly, so if you see something you fancy and you don't take it there and then, it might be gone when you come back 1 hour later. And, although they are amazing at using what they have at hand to make the shop comfortable, they are no Waterstones or Foyles, with romantic little hidden away corners amongst bookshelves, sofas and coffee shops. The main reason being... IT'S A FREE SERVICE. And by being so, it's an amazing achievement thanks to everyone involved and everyone who volunteers to make it possible. Another positive is that there is a huge variety of books. The one in Preston, being near an university, seems to have a lot of education related books. IT, languages... Name it, they might have something along the lines of what you are looking for. If you don't find it straight away, keep on popping in, as the stock rotates constantly.

There are 36 outlets in the UK and you can find the nearest one to you here. You can also read more about Healthy Planet, the charity behind the project. Books are not the only thing they give away for free. It's definitely worth checking.

On the other hand, if you are a blessed book lover who is planning a spring-clean of your shelves any time soon, why not donate your books to them? You can always volunteer as well. :)

If you haven't popped into a centre yet, what are you waiting for? :)

Ambient: Comfy
Food: No
Stock: Ever changing
Children: Yes
For more information about the rating system click here.

Books for Free
Ground and 1st Floor of Dept Store 3
Fishergate Shopping Centre
Preston, PR1 2BT
www.booksforfree.org.uk