We stopped using Amazon in March 2025 and haven’t missed it at all. A lot of you out there will have done the same. We’ve been Amazon affiliates for years and used to make good money referring people to this platform. We still have some links on this site, but I’m slowly removing them. Other sites, like my tropical food garden blog, are completely Amazon-free today.
So where are we all going to buy books?
This post may or may not contain affiliate links, with ethics.
I’m adding this post to my “Living Differently” series, because it’s all part of the journey. From homebirth to homeschool, to travel, to homesteading, to hopefully, once the world has sorted itself out, more travel.
But I’m not holding my breath.
Where To Get Books Today
The first place to get books is obvious, but I didn’t think of it, THE LIBRARY!
Yes, we have one here in remote Far North Queensland, and they’ll order the books you want, sometimes. So it’s time to dust off the library cards.
We also have small book exchanges locally, at a pub, and in a store. They’ll probably pop up more and more.
We also have a small local bookshop, but it’s very expensive, I probably won’t go there.
As we travelled, we always used Kindles, which are, of course, Amazon. We still have them, but they haven’t seen the light of day in years.
So obviously, I won’t be telling you that the #1 kids’ travel accessory is a Kindle from now on. They were great for my kids, but that era has gone.
Where To Buy Books Online That Isn’t Amazon
If you live in the UK or US, or are travelling within these countries, you have a lot of options. In the UK, we are spoiled for bookshops. We’ve spent hours in Waterstones and in the big travel bookshop near Covent Garden in London.
When we first started travelling for extended periods, way back in 2001, book exchanges and second-hand bookstores were common on the backpacker circuit.
In recent years, these have pretty much disappeared all around the world. Hopefully, they will make a comeback as more and more of us show a need.
I can’t believe how much the world has changed in the last 25 years, a blink of an eye for me.
Right now, we’re in a very remote spot in Australia, and buying anything can be tricky.
Buying online can be tricky, even Australian companies don’t deliver outside of the big cities. We have to pick up parcels from a small post office 10km away. Most of you can’t even imagine being that off-grid, I bet.
I just tried to buy ethical, Australian toilet paper online (because we’ve also stopped shopping at the supermarket) and was faced with an $80 delivery fee.
So we had to flush that option away. I’m working on a #2 plan.
Some of the online book shops that are ethical do not deliver to Australia. Some add a huge shipping fee.
A lot of the ethical online bookshops act as platforms for buying and selling used books, which is also great.
One that I found is Bookshop.org, which, although they’ve accepted me as an affiliate, doesn’t seem to deliver outside of the US, which is a shame. They are Climate Neutral Certified and a Registered B Corp. Their shipping is carbon neutral. I don’t think I can even collect affiliate commission from them with a crazy, convoluted payment system, so I’m not going to bother. For a few cents here and there, it’s not worth my time, but they seem to be a good place to source books for American readers. There is also a UK version here with free delivery, UK only, if you buy a few books.
Booktopia.com.au is Australia’s online bookstore. I have no clue if this one is ethical or not, but it’s not Amazon. They also have free delivery for orders over $79. Which is a win. They have an affiliate program through shopper.com, but I’m not a part of that platform, and I need another affiliate platform like I need a hole in the head. So again, I’m not going to bother.
Awesomebooks.com say they are “making an impact with every book”. They have free delivery in the UK and Ireland, and also worldwide delivery. I tried to find out how much shipping would be to Australia, but it wouldn’t accept my address at all. So scratch that one.
Abebooks.com ships to Australia. They had the book I wanted for $7 second-hand, ($10.75 Au). But shipping cost more than the book, the seller was in the US. Another seller was in the UK, shipping was slightly less, but still not worth it. There were no sellers for the book I want in Australia on this platform.
Most of these platforms also have ebooks or audiobooks, but I find these unbearably slow. Being a very high-energy person, listening to a book read slowly is a horrible experience. Also, we’re trying to be off devices and free of subscriptions.
It looks like it’s the library for me. Or re-reading the hundreds of books I have here. Anyway, I hope this post was helpful to someone. If you have a better alternative online bookstore, do let me know.
By the way, if you hate the new Mediavine video ad at the top of the page, please tell me. I think it’s a terrible user experience, shoving ads on top of my videos, and if a few of you agree, I’ll switch it off. But if I do that, nobody ever clicks on the videos to watch them, so I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. Thanks.
Related Posts:
If you'd like to hire a car during your stay, use this car rental comparison tool to find the best deal!
We also suggest you take a look at this company to get a quote for all kinds of the more tricky adventure or extended travel insurance.
Try Stayz / VRBO for an alternative way to find rentals on homes/apartments/condos in any country!