I have a new obsession. It’s called PaperBackSwap, and I’m totally addicted.
I heard about it fairly recently when I was reading the comments on a post on the Ideal Bite blog about swapping stuff online instead of buying new. I was already familiar with one of their recommendations, Book Crossing, which I’m a member of, although I haven’t actually “released” a book yet.
I love the idea of Book Crossing, but I was interested in some way to both give and receive books more easily. I’ve been trying to buy used on Amazon any time I need to get a book… I feel like it’s a little less wasteful than just running to the Barnes & Noble and picking it up brand new.
But PaperBackSwap is just brilliant… you post the books you have and are willing to send to other people, and then you get to order books that other people have posted. Only the person who mails the book pays for shipping, so when you receive a book, it’s free. There’s a credit system, so every time you mail a book to someone, you earn a credit, which you can then use to order another book. Super affordable and eco-friendly!
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Another great book option I’ve been thinking about, as an alternative to buying more and eventually having to purge more is using the public library. I have a membership, and rarely go. While I lose out on the sense of ownership of books (because who doesn’t love to own books), I feel that it’s a great way to support public goods and cut back of tree consumption.
(Although I’m sure it’s far from keeping me from buying
)
I would love to use the library more. My problem is that I’m so busy that it takes me forever to finish a book. I love the library for research, but for normal reading pleasure it’s easier for me to have the book for as long as I want without worrying about getting it back on time. Which is why I love the idea of PaperBackSwap…it’s yours to keep until you decide to give it away.
Oooh I LOVE PBS!!! Friend me over at allthingsjennifer
Jennifer, I friended you!
such a great idea! i’ll be sure to check it out.
I love the idea of book swaps. However for the first time,this made one concern over recycling versus buying new pop into my head. Those new book sales help authors out more. Granted some authors make a lot of money—however some “indie” authors could really benefit from additional “new” book sales. Just something to think about/Devil’s advocate. Sorry. Really.
Oh, and a library idea—does yours have the ability to renew on line? Ours does and I think with renewing online I could actually have a book for 9 weeks or more (I’ve really only done 5 at the most I think though)
you may also want to check out bookmooch.com!
You’ve definitely got a point Valerie. It’s sort of the same situation with music and buying CDs (there’s a CDswap site that’s a sister site to PaperBackSwap by the way). As far as the library goes, I have no idea if ours offers that or not. Up until recently I haven’t really had a library location that’s convenient for me to get to, as the neighborhood I live in is surrounded by areas that were hit really hard by Katrina. But we have a library location that is either opening soon or might already be open. So now that’s another option for me as well.
Although…thinking about the library… using a site like PaperBackSwap doesn’t really harm authors any more than using the library would. Hmm…
Thanks for the tip Katherine. I’ve heard about it and glanced around briefly but I’ll have to look a bit more.
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