Bookswim: Netflix for books

[Spriggan]

http://www.bookswim.com/

Thought some people here might find this intresting, though they only have one of EUOL's books though they will purchase books people want to rent.  I think it's a little expensive at $15/mo for 2 book at a time, up to $40 for 11!--though I guess that's a good deal if you have lots of kids who read.

http://www.bookswim.com/search.do?page=catalog&param=a&author=111658&search=Brandon%20Sanderson

[Peter Ahlstrom]

Interlibrary loan sounds much cheaper.

[Spriggan]

Yes, and so is getting movies at the library.

The thing you're paying for is convenience, experience and not having to wait to read the book, you can get everything from work or home and don't have to goto the library and spend time finding what you want only to find out someone else checked the book out during the time you checked on-line.

And while I think there are people who will always prefer the library there's also a market for people who want a different experience, I've personally never really had a good experience at a library.  It takes too long to find something, even if you know the general area it's in, especially if it hasn't been shelfed yet.

[Shi]

Yeah, but is spending ten minutes looking for the book you want really any worse than waiting two days for it to arrive in the mail? Plus you can just have everything you want sent to the hold shelve if you really want, then you don't have to bother looking for it. Although I might be biased, I love book browsing.

That sounds expensive, though. If I was going to pay that much for a book I'd just buy it.

[Spriggan]

It's not just 10 minutes, you have the time to drive there and many people don't have have the time in the day to go do that, so yes for some people (I'd argue more then actually like library book browsing) waiting a few days isn't much a problem.  After all how many people subscribe to netflix and that has the same wait?

I'm not arguing that this is something you may prefer but something that there's a market for.

[Shi]

Ah, true, true. My library ispart of my school, so I can usually pop in there right after class. So yeah, I guess it would be good for a lot of people.

[apbadd]

And what about those people (like me) that don't really have a library.  I am at the county limits so while I have several libraries on my way to work I can't go there.  The library in my county is at least 20 miles away and probably sucks b/c my county is still developing.

Of course I would not pay that much to rent a book.

[Azhev]

I'm glad I live in such a highly library populated area.  There are 15 libraries in my county alone!!  The ILL system is also pretty good, thank heavens.  I just can't see spending that much.

[Skar]

So that's essentially $7.50 to read a book I don't get to keep.  Personally, I wouldn't do it.

I think the people at bookswim would be way better off figuring out a way to churn out print-on-demand copies of acceptable quality and then offering to convert publisher's and author's old stuff into that format and maybe providing the store front on the net. 

I'd pay $15-$30 dollars for 1 book, if it was a decent quality paperback, maybe trade, and was something I couldn't easily find at a brick and mortar.

But, keep in mind, that I am a distinct bibliophile.  I love owning books.  Putting them on the shelves, taking them down, smelling them, running my hands over them... sorry, got carried away there.

Just read more on their site.  Looks like you can buy the books you really like and just keep them.  That's nice.  Makes it more like you're paying for a library to your door service.  Not bad.

[dawncawley]

If I understand correctly, there is no limit on the number of books you can get per month, just the number you can get at one time. If you are an avid reader, who prefers to try a book before you buy, this could be brilliant. I normally read anywhere from 5-20 books per month, but if I am busy and don't read them in the time allotted by the library it costs me big time, and if I love a book I don't have the option just to buy it from the library, I have to go looking for it.

I think that this may just take off.

[Swiggly]

The library is never open when I go! It's always closed, all the time.

I even call ahead to ask if they'll be open.

Go there, not open.

NOT OPEN.

[Pygmalion]

The library is never open when I go! It's always closed, all the time.

I even call ahead to ask if they'll be open.

Go there, not open.

NOT OPEN.

Yikes, that's irritating. Is it a regular old public library?