Brokelyn

We didn’t choose the Brooklyn Public Library as last night’s raffle-cash recipient because it’s the sexiest cause around, or the hippest or the most sincere. We chose the BPL because few things are more quintessentially Brooklyn, or more fantastically free, than the public library system. The cash-strapped institution’s facing a $20.6 million funding reduction that could, in a few months’ time, close more than a dozen branches and put hundreds of librarians out of work. This weekend, not for the first time, some of our borough’s most loyal bibliophiles will try to do something about it—with a 24-hour read-a-thon, where, they’re saying, “We Will Not Be Shushed.” Read the rest of this entry »

Recently, I’ve had to cut my  book buying from a few new ones a month to just a few a year. Then I  came across a new web site called www.paperbackswap.com—and it’s great. Basically, you sign up and post books you are willing to send out. For each book you send out, you get a credit you can exchange for a book from another member.  To start, if you list 10 books, you even get two “free credits.” Your only cost is the postage for the book you send out  (so don’t list the Oxford English Dictionary!) Read the rest of this entry »

Photo by Stefan Tonio

I never really decided to spend only $8,000 in one year—it just sort of happened. I didn’t even realize the extent of my thrift until tallying up my income on the eve of March 15. When you take the amount of money I brought home (roughly $13,000) and subtract the amount I had thrown to the black void that is private student loans (roughly $5,000), combined with the fact that both my checking and my savings accounts were more or less empty on January 1, it was pretty simple math. Read the rest of this entry »