A handy tip for thrifty bookworms who like to buy books at cheaper prices than in bookstores: use Booko. This fantastic Web site will do all the hard work for you of checking prices on all of the major retailers’ Websites, adding shipping costs, and even converting foreign currencies into Aussie Dollars!

As an example, one of the most useful and prized books in my library is The Cook’s Companion, by Stephanie Alexander. This retails for around $100 in most bookstores and the cheapest I’ve ever seen is $89.95 at KMart or Big W, but Booko shows that at today’s exchange rate, you can get it from The Book Depository for around AU$67 (including free shipping to Australia)!

Now’s the perfect time to buy, with the AUD on the rise again after a pretty rough patch thanks to the Global Financial Crisis. Remember the time when it almost achieved parity with the US dollar? Oh. My. God. I went on the biggest shopping spree back then…

Another tip guaranteed to save you a few bucks on books: sign up for Borders’ Shortlist newsletter. Discount vouchers accompany each issue, and occasionally the offer will be better than usual, like 40% off books, or 30% off DVDs. Even with their “premium pricing” this often results in some pretty good deals. Or you could just follow me on Twitter and I’ll keep you posted whenever one of these crops up.

Now you have no excuse not to expand your minds and your libraries!