Tue 15 Jul 2008
Tuesday Thingers: Book Swapping
Posted by autumnrouse under Bookery, Tuesday Thingers
[4] Comments
Today’s topic: Book-swapping. Do you do it? What site(s) do you use? How did you find out about them? What do you think of them? Do you use LT’s book-swapping column feature for information on what to swap? Do you participate in any of the LT communities that discuss bookswapping, like the Bookmooch group for example?
Oh my god. My inner librarian is quivering in terror at the very prospect. i am a HOARDER of books, and only RARELY a lender of same. and usually only to particularly trusted fellow book lovers. not getting books back upsets me immensely.
on the other hand, i tend to be hard on books myself; i’m a spine breaker, a spiller of food, a taker of books into the bathtub and poolside, a ditcher of cover flaps. so i’m pretty reluctant to borrow books either since it requires me to be more careful than i want to.
i like the idea and see it as a good thing to do, but i feel about it much the way i do about public transportation: i’m in favor of the idea for everyone else, but only resort to it myself in desperation.
🙂
Sometimes I buy books at thrift shops and Goodwill for the sole purpose of listing it on BookMooch, usually books I know are on WishLists.
I used to be a hoarder of books, but I began to realize I’d have to buy a house for my books if I didn’t quit. Of course, Mt. TBR is at capacity and spilling over onto my desk. (:-\
You said it so perfectly: “i’m a spine breaker, a spiller of food, a taker of books into the bathtub and poolside, a ditcher of cover flaps.” That’s me, too! I don’t know how people read hardback books with the covers on…and I’ve had to air dry more than a few books that fell into the bathtub or the kitchen sink or upon which I spilled a beverage.
This brings to mind a chapter in Anne Fadiman’s “Ex Libris” about things you should never do to a book…I remember realizing that I was guilty of almost all of them.
Lol. I’m a hoarder too. Although I’ve recently started lending (count them: 2 books) I don’t think I’d be able to lend out things I really really loved!
I’m the same way … if I think I may re-read a book sometime in the next 60 years I cant part with it. But swapping is good for the duds 🙂