Trick 1
When you go to a charity bookshop, if you cannot find the book or the author that you are looking for, do ask the bookshop staff. Many charity shops have boxes and boxes of books in the back of the shop that they haven’t put out on the shelves yet (usually because they have run out of space) but they may be happy to let you browse through a box or two, or to look through the boxes for you and show you a selection next time you are in. Don’t forget, some bookshops are kinder than others – you and your friends may like to run a survey on which ones are the nicest and post that on your school’s "Home Library" notice board.

Trick 2
When you go to a normal High Street bookshop, remember that the staff there have access to computerised information about books and writers, so if you cannot find the book you want, do ask them to look it up for you. If you like, you can then order it.

Trick 3
Many online bookshops such as BOL and Amazon sell new books for much less than High Street bookshops. Do ask your parents before going online, but don’t nag them about buying new books. Nobody’s pockets are bottomless and parents have other bills to pay.

Trick 4
Often at jumble sales if you buy several books you can negotiate a lower price. Try it! Good luck.

Trick 5
The Home Library bookplates are great for covering up the name of a previous owner of a second-hand book – suddenly it’s all yours!

Trick 6
If it’s raining outside and you can’t think what to do, you can download your favourite bookplates from the Home Library website and stick them in all the books you haven’t yet put a bookplate in. If when you’ve done that there’s still no one ready to take you book shopping or to the library, why not colour in some of the bookplates? Or enter the Home Library competition?

Trick 7
Keep a list of all the books in your Home Library (you could do this in a special book, or file or on the computer) with a very short 10 – 15 word summary and comment. It could come in very useful for a future homework project.

Trick 8
Try keeping a book on you for short bus or car journeys, (but remember, many people feel queasy if they read too long in a car or bus) train journeys and visits to the doctor or dentist. If the book is small it will fit into a jacket or jeans pocket – larger ones, and you’ll have to take a rucksack! Poetry and short stories are particularly good choices for this sort of "reading on the move" because you’re more likely to reach the end of something uninterrupted.

Trick 9
Make sure your next jacket has large pockets!

Trick 10
Enter the Home Library competitions and maybe you’ll win lots of free books!