I love a good bookshop. Anyone accompanying me to such an establishment is in for a long wait because once I’m in there, it’s going to be a struggle to drag me back out again. Sorry, not sorry. I could waste hours browsing the shelves of Waterstones and flicking through the pristine pages of a freshly printed books. Occasionally I will treat myself but more and more I find myself turning towards the wonderful world of secondhand books. A charity shop find might not be as instagramable but it sure has a lot of benefits. Here are five fab reasons to shop secondhand.

• It saves you money. One great benefit of buying secondhand books is that they can be significantly cheaper than new ones. This means that not only are you saving the pennies but also you get to buy way more of them!
• It’s good for the environment. Buying secodhand books reduces waste, lowers demand for new paper production, and decreases carbon emissions associated with the manufacturing and shipping of new books. It also challenges the disposable consumer mindset; we don’t always need to jump on the shiny new thing.
• The have more character. Maybe I’m a weirdo but I love knowing that a book has been enjoyed by others before me, I don’t mind if it’s a bit dog-eared, if the spine is creased, or if there are notes in the cover. For me this just adds to the charm.
• It encourages reading diversity. You might be more limited on which books are available to you, giving you an opportunity to get out of you reading comfort zone. As a less expensive option, you don’t have as much to lose my taking a chance on a new author or trying a genre you’ve never read before.
• It supports independent sellers. Charity shops, individual online sellers and libraries rely on these sales to stay afloat. Operating on narrow margins means that every purchase counts. So you’re not just getting a good bargain, you are helping these sellers to continue their good work.

So before checking out on that Amazon basket, why not check out the used options? Or visit your local charity shop? Maybe you could gift a used book to a friend? Next time you need a new holiday read, why not pick up a book that has already lived a little?

Remember, when we buy secondhand, we don’t just buy a book, we continue its story.