books and movies

University and college courses are notorious for requiring expensive text books. While some of these costs cannot be avoided, there are other options. Lifehacker offers a few options (including, amazingly, digitizing a whole book which is usually not worthwhile when you consider the time it takes and is currently still illegal), some of which are important to consider.

Sitting in a crowded cinema surrounded by people can be an enjoyable experience but it isn't what I consider frugal. There are ways to see movies on the big screen for less but the real savings are elsewhere if you don’t need to see a blockbuster on opening weekend.

Join CBC host Sook-yin Lee for an exploration of being "cheap," where she asks: does being "cheap" really pay off? (Originally aired Saturday March 6, 2010). Followup show airs March 16th.

Listen here: http://www.cbc.ca/dnto/MT/2010/03/listen_to_dnto_mar_6_on_the_ch.html

Some of what's discussed:

If you need to build something -- from a side table to a barn -- if it uses wood, chances are you can find some assistance through the Woodworkers' Library, an amazing resource of 175 e-books (HTML and PDF) from the past hundred years or so.

[photo by somjuan on Flickr]

I love a good freebie and if you run a business you should know the value of Seth Godin's books. If you aren't familiar with his work, pop over to his blog for an idea of what he's all about.

All 8 books below can be downloaded free!

Hooray! When I was younger, Tuesdays were "cheap movie night" -- they started as "Two-fifty Tuesdays" and gradually went up until they disappeared altogether. Now, it looks like the two big players -- Cineplex and Empire -- have both decided to look to the past for guidance in how to get bums-in-seats again.

If you ever read Calvin and Hobbes and wondered about the man behind the comic, you might be interested in the forthcoming book by Nevin Martell; he is offering a free chapter for a limited time; just send an email to lookingforcalvinandhobbes@gmail.com [More about Looking for Calvin and Hobbes]