There are so many places to find books in my area.  The best place is our library which has a permanent FOL sale with paperbacks for 50 cents and hardcovers for $1.  There is also a bookswap shelf in our community center, etc.  And the hospital where I volunteer collects donation books for waiting rooms. 

I have just gone through the first three pages of my transaction archive.  Out of 150 books traded succesfully,  109 were books that I didn't read (or had any desire to read) but posted because they were wishlisted (or had very few copies in the system). 

Most of those books I got from local swaps (hey, I have plenty of books that are in abundant supply here on PBS so I swap for books that are WL'd here).  As for the hospital supply, I always give them plenty of books for the ones I take.

Thanks to my accumulated credits, my TBR pile is hoooooooooge!  I think I am insane......... do I need an intervention? 

Hmmmmm - maybe the hospital you volunteer at has a bca (book collectors anon).  I'm sure the wait is a long one, since there are so many of us.

Just be sure to bring a book to read while you wait - check out my bookshelf if you need one!

wc

I honestly did not realize the huge percentage of "books just for posting" vs. "books for reading" that I've gone through until I actually started counting them up in my transaction archive.  I stopped at the third page because I don't want to know the total!    At any rate, I will probably still keep doing it..... I do love "the hunt", and I try to space out the posting so that the postage costs are spread out over pay periods....  (oh, and for those of you who do not use the PBS mobile site on your phones...... try it.  It is the reason I pick up so many WL books!)

Terri,

Just think of it as community service. You have made many people happy by posting those wish-listed books. Think of all the good karma you have gathered. keep it up!

The only place around here to pick up inexpensive book is the fol shelf at the library.  50 cents pb or a dollar hc.

If they are still left on the shelf after a week they go on another shelf- 3 for a dollar pb- 2 for a dollar hc.

Goodwill is expensive in comparison.  So I am jealous of all your options as I do the same thing.  Buy wl books that I do not read to fullfil others wants... and my tbr is huge also-  so I guess I need an intervention also, lol

I can't help you.....................I have my own book related issues, lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Denise

Books contain knowledge, and knowledge is power.  So that's a great big pile of power you got sitting on your floor/bookshelf/nightstand.

At least, that's the line I keep using on my hubby when he's tripping over my TBR mountain ...

lol Elizabeth, I think I'll save that for the next time my parents complain about the mess in my room, "mess" being piles of books on the floor, desk, dresser...

Terri, I have just joined this week, and I am already enjoying "the hunt" :) ...

But, I am more interested in children's books for my son, than I am for pelaseure reading myself. So, that puts me in smaller bracket, I am sure. But, prior to having my son, I worked in daycare for years, so I have come to know my share of children's books! ;) I got ambitious and printed the top 50 wanted list--all adult reads! I have to admit, I was lost! LOL

Rochelle, Welcome to PBS! To get a list of the top WL children's books:

-Hover over the "Search" tab in the menu bar at the top of any page
-Click on Club Wish List (near the bottom of the list)
-Go down to Search by Genre, where you can select Children's, then sub-genres for age groups, genre, etc.
-When that comes up, go over to the Search features on the left, down near the bottom, where it says "Sort by".  The default is "Relevance" but you can change it to "# of wishers" and Viola!  the top wished-for children's books!

Just keep in mind that a lot of times, the top wished for books have not been published yet, so you need to check the publication dates.  There is a filter there on the left in the advanced searcht that you can filter by date.  Set it to "<= 2010" and you won't have to worry about things that won't be published until next year, but you still have to watch for the ones published from now to the end of this year.

Happy Hunting!

I have absolutely no advice that would be helpful at all for you. I'm way more addicted than you. If I am any indication of what your stats will look like after being a member for just under 5 yrs, you may want to try to get out now while the getting is possible (normally you'd say "while the gettin' is good" but you are too late for that, you are just barely still in the "get out while the gettin' is possible :) When I started 5 yrs ago in Nov. I posted every book I could get my hands on, having learned quickly that I cannot stand to re-read a book. I remember the books way too well, and it's just not the same as re-watching a movie. When I know already what the next scene and lines are in a book, it just really spoils the book for me, so re-reading is really out of the question. So, like I said, I posted every book I could get my hands on. Leaving me with no starting TBR Pile.

Now, 5 yrs and many, many trades later, I don't have a TBR Pile, nor a Mt. TBR Pile, but a TBR ROOM!!!!! Why do I say this, you ask? Because I now have a TBR of just just about right at or maybe a couple over 3,300 books. And no, I didn't accidentally add an extra zero or extra 3!  How can I get away with that? Doesn't my DH throw a major fit??? Not in the least. While he didn't get rid of his in the beginning, they are now in the database, which lists him as having a TBR ROOM of just over 2,862.

We keep all our books in a database, and have since we began. We include books we got for gifts, the kids (all grown so not real demanding), our church, ourselves, and for trading (which, yes, we even buy books specifically for trading that we know are on the WL here. Tho not nearly so many nowadays  :)  The database currently contains 14,413 titles all combined.  All this in just 5 small measly years could be yours if you are diligent, mind how well you attend your local yard sales near the end of the day and buy the remaining books at the end by the boxful, regularly attend your local FOL, and the 3 towns surrounding you!

OMG Sherry - now you have me really worried!!! 

I have my own problems in this area.  I'm not really sure of what to do to help myself clear out some of this huge TBR.  I've decided to read a few pages of a book to see if it "grabs" me.  If it doesn't I think I'm just going to put it up for adoption.  600+ is just too much to have to manuever around here.  I'll never live long enough to read them all anyway.  I've pretty much learned that I can recognize the ones I really want to keep to read just by viewing the TBR list.  Now to come up with the funds to afford shipping them out!

Ruth