Seriously, go to the library
Public libraries are criminally underrated.
My city has at least a dozen different libraries, and one library card (which is free) gets you access to all of them.
They have classics, and even some new release books, and if your local branch doesn’t have a certain book, you can hold it at another branch. Online you can get ebook or audiobook versions, and enjoy them right from your phone.
The value of the library is insane, and not enough people use it. Myself included. Yesterday I visited a new branch, (a much nicer one than I went to previously), and rediscovered my love for the library. I plan to use it more often.
I’ll do some writing, get books and ebooks, and try out book clubs, poetry clubs, writing groups, etc.
Being there yesterday also reminded me how much I loved the library as a kid. During a rough part of my teens, we got evicted and were staying with family in what can only be described as a trap house.
To get away from that environment, I spent A LOT of time in the library.
I took out books on pyrokinesis, and tried to set things on fire with my mind. I read books with predictions from the past, and chuckled at how WRONG they were:
“By the year 2000 everyone will drive flying cars!”
I read books by martial artists, MMA fighters, bodybuilders, and taught myself about fitness and fighting. For those hours in the library, I forgot about the hell I had waiting for me back at home. It became my escape, and helped me get through.
So, if you love reading — go to the library.
If you want to make friends and join clubs — go to the library.
If you need a quiet reprieve away from a hellish home life — go to the library.
Whatever you’re looking for, the library’s not a bad place to start.