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BookSwim: just like the public library, but $24 per month
If you're the sort of person who likes to read three books at a time, but can't finish any of them within 30 days, and doesn't mind paying the price of a hardcover book every month without getting to keep anything, have we got the service for you!BookSwim wants to be Netflix for books. That's right, they want you to pay a monthly fee in order to receive 5 to 11 books at a time via the mail. Unlike your public library, there's no late fee if you don't finish the book within three or four weeks. You can keep them until you're done, and then send them back.
But also unlike your public library, you have to pay a monthly fee to join. The cheapest plan lets you read up to three books at a time for $24 per month. If you've got more readers in your family the 11 books at a time plan might seem like a better deal -- at $36 per month.
Or you could, you know, go to your local library. They might not have 150,000 titles, but that's what interlibrary loan is for.
[via Uneasy Silence]
Comments
8
Subscribe to commentsxoxoANP!May 16th 2007 9:57AM
See also: zooba.com circa 2004. Not sure if they are still around, but:
http://www.aripaparo.com/archive/netflix_for_books.html
Aaron WalkerMay 16th 2007 12:27PM
Geez, talking about getting fleeced.
It's very easy to avoid late fees: write down when the books are due and if you haven't finished by the due date, renew it. Tada! No more late fees.
I love reading and I usually get my books from the local library before I shell out money for them. I find it is a great way to sample a book before I buy and the best for fluff fiction that you would never want to actually have to pay money for. I can't tell you how many times I've read a book and thanked God for the public library system so I didn't have to waste my money on such drivel.
I've also had my share of late fees but never enough to want to abandon the free library system. It's my tax dollars after all that are supporting it.
My local library is even slowly (and I do mean slowly) crawling into the 21st century by offering downloadable e-books and audio books free of charge. And if my local branch doesn't have it, they can usually find it somewhere in the library share system for me.
So, whoever thought this was a great idea, why would I want to pay $24 a month for something when my local library allows me to take out up to 11 books at a time free of charge?
CorvidaMay 16th 2007 5:41PM
@ Aaron
The libraries in the cities that I'm in the most have no books that I want to read and the neighboring libraries are just as old school. For me, this service would be a bit of a savior if they happen to have the books I want to read.
JamesMay 16th 2007 5:42PM
libraries are very good especially with interlibrary loans, but I find there might be two copies of some specialist books (read anything put out by O'Reilly) in the entire system with one or both stolen or on permanent hold. If it's not NYT best seller or a classic, I also find it hard to get, so for those niches and those that don't live near a big city to have many libraries in the interloan system I figure this isn't that bad an idea.
AaronMay 16th 2007 7:23PM
Okay, maybe I'm spoiled. And I don't mean to make others feel bad. However, I don't live in a major city and still manage to get just about whatever I need from my library. And when they fail me, I'm on the net to my friends at Amazon.
I figure if I really want/need a book that bad that I can't wait for it to come to the library then I need to just go ahead and buy it.
Don't mean any disrespect.
DavidMay 16th 2007 10:26PM
I can see how this would be a good offering for folks living outside the city...the more rural you are, the less likely you'll be to head in for a trip to the library. Plus, some public libraries charge ridiculous out-of-city membership fees, making this a reasonable alternative. And don't forget, there are plenty of lazy rich folk who live in the city too. If you make $110,000 a year, what's $288? That could be equivalent to the bar tab on a really good night.
David BigwoodMay 17th 2007 5:26PM
No need to go to the library for those books. Here in Texas, and many othere states folks in the country can download books. They can also download audio books. If you can get online for BookSwim you could get NetLibrary, Safari, or Tumblebooks. Of course, nothing beats browsing the library, but the online option is nice.
Cynthia ArmisteadMay 22nd 2007 12:40AM
Our family has used the library heavily everywhere we've lived, and we're very familiar with interlibrary loan requests. We use the resources of the university library for the school at which I take online classes and the county library here where we live.
Unfortunately, the university isn't big on popular fiction, and the county library just doesn't acquire new genre fiction. My partner, daughter and I are serious readers of science fiction, fantasy, and mystery books. We only keep special books that we know we'll want to re-read and pass on to friends.
Most libraries (ours included) will not request or fill an interlibrary loan for new books - anywhere from 6 months to 2 years old. Ours also charges $3 for every request filed, whether it is ever filled or not. There's no automated way to check on them, either - everything about them seems to have one foot stuck in the 1930s.
Each and every request has to be filed on a separate, hand-written form. You can't put in a request for "The Harry Dresden series by Jim Butcher." No, you have to fill out nine pieces of paper, one for each book, and pay $27 when you hand those nine pieces of paper to a librarian - then stand there correcting her while she laboriously types them into a computer.
And then you wait. Someday, you may suddenly get an automated call saying that a book you requested has arrived (all other notifications come via email). The loan period began the day the book left its home library, so the clock is already ticking. If you miss that one call (their system doesn't handle voice mail well) or are out of town! The loan period is set by the library that owns the book, and it could be as brief as a week or as long as a month - but you can't renew the book if you don't finish it in time. That "due by" date is chiseled in stone!
Honestly, I've never dealt with any other library that was so difficult about interlibrary loans. I've used them in many other county library systems as well as in several school libraries without a hassle. Obviously, someone in this county system just doesn't want to deal with them. But since it's the only library to which we have access that carries any fiction to speak of, it makes BookSwim look pretty good!