Buying RPG books... :(

I'm torn with role playing.  I love the worlds that others build, and the ways they are all linked together.  But I don't want to pay $50/book to get the stories behind the world.  :(  And right now, even trying out Maze Rats, an OSR-type system, is looking too expensive ($2.99) because I don't play these as games, just read them for the world.  I really need to play them in order to make myself feel that the purchase is worth it.