Cheapest Brain Food Ever

I just came across a great quote by Jerry Seinfeld:“A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking.” Too true, not enough people think anymore. Or read.

So, I have this little genius child. I mean, she is so incredibly smart! She tested at a college reading level when she was only in 3rd grade! I have always tried to encourage her to use this, and not hide it. It worked; she won the Accelerated Readers contest at her school 2 years in a row, then was disappointed the next year that she couldn’t win it again. The reason? She had already read ALL the AR books and tested on them, so there was nothing left on the list for her to read. Amazing!

We are very lucky here, though. We have a fantastic local library that is very close to 2 of the best parks ever. Some of the best time we have spent together has been stocking up on library, taking a blanket and picnic lunch over to the park, and spending hours there. Seriously, can it get any better than that? Especially now, while the weather is actually cool enough to enjoy it and everything is still green? And, it makes us both happy. She gets to either hang out with me and read her cool new book, or hang out with the other kids- whichever makes her happiest at the time. And it’s one of the few chances I have to actually just relax. That never, ever, ever happens in my home! And, I mentioned the Accelerated Reader program above – her reading is seriously accelerated. I can buy her a new book at the bookstore, she’s finished it within an hour, 3 hours tops. We’re talking about chapter books and adult paperbacks, here, folks. I could easily spend a fortune at the bookstore (if I had a fortune available).

I am an avid reader too. I will read just about anything I can get my hands on, and take every 2 spare minutes I can find to sneak in a few pages. And, not surprisingly, one of my favorite websites in the world is Amazon.com. Now, me being the cheap person that I am, I don’t always shop at Amazon – although I will take full advantage of their web site sometimes! When I have shopped there, though, I have gotten some really killer prices on some of my favorite books, and some electronics. And been super happy with the service, too.

So, how to use Amazon.com and be cheap? All at the same time? Here, it’s super easy. I look up my favorite authors, or sometimes just books I have heard about, see what other people think, get recommendations on alternate titles, and so on. My local library has their card catalog online. Unfortunately, the online version for some reason does not always return the correct results, unless you know who the author is. So, I could easily miss out on some incredible book because I didn’t know it was there! Enter: Amazon.com. I search for the books there, get the author’s name, and check it against the local library’s stock. You have probably guessed by now, if the library has it – I do not buy it! I check it out for free! (And yes, I can name at least one book at least 8 times that I can remember!)

So, this is a great way to find books on certain subjects, especially technology related books, that you may otherwise miss out on, or that you don’t want to drop $60 on to take care of one service call. Take total advantage of it. That’s kind of the whole point, here. Go check out a book, READ it, and learn something! And if you have kids, it’s a great way to get them interested in so many things. My daughter has learned so much just from reading her library books. And when she was sick and she had 8 new books sitting there just waiting to be read, that didn’t cost me a dime…well, let’s just say that was an absolute lifesaver!

So, I don’t know if I can top this on the cheap/free entertainment list. It equals hours of time for me and my daughter, together. It is free. She learns a lot, and has a way to keep herself happy and occupied without a computer, even. Well worth it, guys. Keeps the kids happy & quiet, gives you a chance to relax, makes everybody smart. Cheapest Brain Food ever!