Find More Wonder: Explore the Clew Library

Why Bookshop.org?

You’ll notice that I link to books on Bookshop.org instead of Amazon. Here's the deal: Amazon is a huge company that hurts small businesses, treats workers badly, actively prevents labor unions, and bullies authors into exclusive contracts. Bookshop is a Certified B Corp that gives 80% of their profit margin back to independent bookstores. You can choose to support a local, independent bookstore near you. If you buy through my links, I get a small commission. Then, your sale goes into a profit-sharing pool that benefits 2,000+ independent bookstores across the United States.

What about Audiobooks?

Bookshop.org offers print books and ebooks. If you’re an audiobook lover like me, you’re probably familiar with Audible. I started an Audible membership in 1999, back in the days when we had to listen to MP3s on proprietary devices (Audible Otis, I’m looking at you.) I held out for quite some time after Amazon acquired Audible, but it just didn’t feel good to pump more money back into the Amazon machine. Fortunately, these days we have a great alternative. Libro.fm is an employee-owned audiobook social purpose corporation that supports local independent bookstores. Like Bookshop, you can select your favorite independent bookstore to support with your purchases. Monthly subscriptions are available or you can purchase credits or gift cards.

I am proud to be an ex-Audible member and a Libro.fm subscriber. My audiobook membership supports High Five Books in Northampton, MA.

Love for Libby

I listen to a lot of audiobooks each year. Unfortunately, I can’t afford to purchase all of them. That’s why I’m so grateful for public libraries and the Libby app. Libby is a mobile app that allows you to request and borrow audiobooks (and ebooks and magazines) with your public library membership. If you haven’t tried Libby year, here’s an article on how to get started.

I recently used my library card to register for an account with Kanopy. Kanopy allows public and university library users to access a streaming video platform full of films, TV shows, documentaries, and more. Looking forward to exploring their collection!