It may be a bit early for this post, but tonight (I don't know you that well yet, but thanks, Mela) I was turned on to paperbackswap.com, and all instruments register an 8.9 on the Richter Scale of Radical!
Anyone that's read previous posts knows that I can't control myself around used book sales. One book becomes ten books, which eventually becomes an old Sutter Home White Zinfandel box full of books (the box isn't mine...it came with the books.) So needless to say I have shelves and shelves and boxes and stacks of mostly unread reading material. What's an overzealous bibliophile to do?
Swap them. Paperbackswap.com is exactly what you'd imagine it would be. List all the books you want to get rid of and receive credits when another user requests one of them. That user pays nothing for your book, and you pay to ship it. You then use your credits to "buy" books from other users, and they pay for that shipping. No money changes hands directly between the parties involved. You're truly trading books (and CDs and DVDs) with a very large community of people.
I just signed up for an account and tomorrow sometime I think I'll peruse my shelves and shelves and boxes and stacks for grist for the trading mill. I will say though that my book addiction is tinged with the collecting bug. Reading the book is important, of course, but that rarely happens. The "having of" the book is motivation plenty. It remains to be seen whether I can find books I can part with. I'm hoping I have a copy of "Potat-OH!: An Illustrated History of Tubers" that I can get rid of.
Note: If any of you sign up after reading this entry, use jdbloom@comcast.net when they ask who referred you. Apparently I get some small bonus.
Note Also: I didn't write this entry in order to get the above-mentioned bonus. I just think the idea is a really good one. If you agree, remember who told you about it.
Note As Well: The Richter Scale of Radical doesn't actually exist. And that registers very low on the Richter Scale of Radical.
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