More on Free(ish) books

I've just become aware of Paperback Swap, which I'm mentioning for the purposes of reference, but I'm not sure I'd endorse when there's already Books Free.

The basic idea is that you post a list of paperback books that you're willing to send out into the world. For every x number of books that you send out (at your own expense), you get a credit to ask for books that other Paperback Swap members have listed, which they will mail to you.

It's a nice thought, but a rather hit-or-miss proposition. You can't earn credits until you show good faith by mailing things out, but you won't have the opportunity to mail things out if your books aren't already on someone else's wishlist. You don't have to pay a monthly fee to join, but you do have to pay for postage.

There is a similar LJ community with fewer rules at the_bookswap. Scroll down, they've got a large blank header. Doesn't look like a lot of action, but the idea is right and communities always need help to launch.

Which reminds me - I'm putting up a Conant Collection on 4goodcauses Sunday - 8 Susan Conant dog mystery books, to benefit Noah's Wish.


If anyone is interested, I'm going to do a mass post at the beginning of the year collecting all the low cost/no cost/charity/swap book locations I know of. Please feel free to mention any I've missed so far, and please feel free to pass on the site to anyone doing the 50 Book Challenge, bookswaps, whatever.