“How frugal is the chariot that bears the human soul.” – Emily Dickinson
Benjamin Franklin did not invent the lending library — he invented the free market version of it: a member-supported circulating library. For an upfront sign-up fee and small monthly payments, tradesmen, merchants, farmers, et al could borrow anything within. The Founding Fathers all recognized the necessity of education, though they argued the extent to which the state should run such a system — yet another thing they were right to be concerned about. Still, Franklin’s system meant that access to great ideas was no longer reserved for the rich.
And here we are, 250 years later, many of us with the space and the disposable income necessary to build the kind of library that would’ve made any of those great men envious — thanks to independent used booksellers in our towns and nationally on eBay and companies like Amazon.
My purpose here is to make it easier for you to find and purchase the books I recommend. I’ve separated the libraries into three age groupings and all the lists are searchable by genre, so if you have a sense of who your reader is, selecting a fitting title will be easier.
You can navigate each list with the pagination button on the top right corner of the table or search by genre, author, and title. Give some attention to lexile level. Lexile levels below 800 are best for young readers. Mid-range readers are comfortable anywhere from 700-1100, and experienced readers will thrive at 1000+. Don’t be afraid to pick up a book with a high lexile score — just know you may end up reading it to your child instead of with him.
While I am an Amazon affiliate and I’d love it if you bought these books using my links, eBay is a great place to buy them used at low prices. Sometimes the only way to get a particular title is from a used bookseller. Many can also be found on Kindle, and the out-of-print titles are often under $3 in the Kindle bookstore. Physical books are much better for young readers though.