Paranormal Book Club
I am a fond lover of books and always encourage people to read to help them along their path of discovering the paranormal. Of course the word paranormal itself covers a vast area - not just ghosts as we are all very aware. Maybe you have a focus on a certain area or maybe you want to take a leap into other areas. Regardless of where you are or where you are heading, it can be hard to know what to read. Even more than that, books are expensive - especially a lot of paranormal books. The older it is, the more expensive it is. There is nothing worse than spending a lot of money on a book and even importing it from overseas, to get a couple of chapters in and realise it is rubbish or not for you.
I often get a lot of messages of emails from people asking for recommendations on books to either help them get started in the paranormal or just because they are looking for something to read. I know that I myself have received some amazing recommendations from others within the field that have now become staples in my ever growing library. I would never have known about them, had they not been recommended. So I thought, why not bring this idea to the blog? With this in mind, I am creating the LLIFS Book club. This will be a monthly project where I will recommend books from different areas, new releases, old favourites or books that are the 'must have book of the minute' type of deal. It doesn't just end there though. I want you to get involved too. This will be an opportunity where you too can recommend books to others. You will be able to discuss your thoughts on a book. We aren't all going to love the same book. A book that I love, you might hate. By discussing and giving books a platform, it will hopefully not only encourage people to read, but to get involved in paranormal discussion and most importantly ... think!
The first paranormal book club will launch in January 2020. If you have some books you would like to recommend to add to paranormal book club, please comment below or email me sarah@llifs.com.au Remember, this is not just going to be focused on ghost hunting etc. Anything under the paranormal umbrella be it UFO, cryptids, ascension, spirituality, psychic devleopment ... anything.
In the mean time, I wanted to share where I get a lot of my books from. I know here in Australia, it can be hard to access a lot of books that are sold overseas.
The first site that I visit almost daily is Book Depository. They ship for free worldwide and often have books that are readily available for sale here in Australia. The books are usually market value, however some older editions can end up being expensive. https://www.bookdepository.com/
If you are strapped for cash, I recommend buying second hand books. Your local second hand store is a great place to search for bargains. Many of us have picked up a great paranromal book for about $2 and you wonder why anyone would have given it away! If there is a specific book you are after and it is expensive brand new, I recommend trying out World of Books. It is basically a second hand online book store. It lists the quality of the book and is a great way to buy that must have paranormal book for a reduced price. I have used them several times and while the shipping wait can be long, it is worth it in the end, and the shipping is FREE in Australia. https://www.worldofbooks.com/
If you don't mind reading books on a kindle or an ipad, an Ebook is a great way to access content without having to spend a fortune. While I personally like to have the physical book in my hand, if I am not willing to make the financial commitment, I will buy the Ebook first. Amazon have a great program called Kindle Unlimited which you can join which is essentially like a bit of a Netflix for kindle. You will have access to a library of Ebooks and the great thing is that the more pages you read, the author will get a commission. There is a small montly fee to access Kindle unlimited, otherwise you can purchase an Ebook outright through amazon and some are as cheap as 99 cents. https://www.amazon.com/
Finally, if you see someone selling books they have written themselves, I highly recommend buying direct from them. Often they will sell the book for the same price as online outlets, and they can even sign it for you. It could be a collectors item one day. Another benefit to this is that it helps the author. When they sell books online through places like Amazon and Book Depository, self published authors may be lucky to make $3 on a book as it is a commission based structure. Contact an author direct and see if you can get a copy direct. Authors often attend paranormal conventions etc so make sure if you are attending one you take some spare cash and purchase their works. Even better is you can talk to them about the book!
So there you have a small guide into purchasing books. Once we get this book club established, maybe we can set up a bit of a swap system. I know with my friends, whenever we would buy new books, once we had finished reading them we would swap with each other what we were reading or even lend them a copy so they had a chance to read it. If it is something you don't want to keep in your library, think about this swap system or selling it second hand for someone else to enjoy. I know I myself like to keep everything in my library as I often go back and revisit books, but if it is a book I don't like, I will happily hand it over to someone else to check out!
Now that we have the book club ready, here comes the question ..... what do I purchase? I will recommend some of the books I am reading now in the first paranormal book club for 2020. Remember to submit your suggestions by commenting below or email me sarah@llifs.com.au ! If there is enough interest, I may set up a closed Facebook group to discuss further, but I would need some volunteers to help admin and moderate. It would be purely for book discussions (not for memes or to advertise paranormal groups). Lets see where it takes us. Get your book marks ready and let's read some books!
If you enjoy LLIFS, consider buying me a book (otherwise known as buy me a coffee but I don't drink coffee and I LOVE books). Your donation helps to fund the LLIFS website so everyone can continue to access great paranormal content and resources for FREE!
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Comments
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Kd Foreman 5 years ago
Sorry if I missed this part: should we all read the same book and discuss, or should we recommend ones we’ve already read? It would take time and money for us all to receive any book ordered and then read it. What would be the timeline for each book?
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LLIFS 5 years ago
It will be more of a recommendation based discussion with a different theme each month where people can recommend a certain book related to the topic and we can also discuss that topic. No one will be expected to go and buy books etc in order to participate. The website will be set up in a way that discussions can continue once people have read a book in no set timeline if they choose and people will be able to set up a profile etc.
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