Check out this website: Booksfree.com.
I think it's an interesting idea, but I have a couple of questions:
1. Why would you choose this over the free public library? I suppose you can pick your books sitting in your jammies and don't have to make it over to the library in person. If I were still working outside my home would that have been enough to entice me to sign up for this service? Hmmmmm.
2. Why call it Booksfree, when at the lowest subscription level it costs $7.99 per month. And could you not buy the latest books cheaper than that at 1/2 Price Books and simply give them away if you didn't want to keep them? It seems that there are many copies of the latest stuff at 1/2 Price, but again, you do have to actually GO there and pick it up.
Hmmmmm. Most of the avid readers I know love to haunt book stores and libraries--fondling the books, reading the covers, etc.
Now, if you were elderly or homebound I think this would be GREAT. But are there enough other people to make it work?
Eggsactly. I have a viscerally negative reaction to any service that calls itself free and then charges. I picked up a $24 remainder book yesterday for $6.95. There are so many deals out there it isn't even funny. Abbot Vonier's "A Key to the Doctrine of the Eucharist" was only $4 online (of course, the shipping doubles the price).
My public library allows me to search the catalog, place holds, and renew books online. The only time I have to get out of my jammies and get the car keys is when it's time to actually pick up the books or return them. It's fantastic because browing the stacks is difficult with an active three-year-old in tow. And there are no out-of-pocket costs (strictly speaking, it's not actually "free", since we pay on April 15 :) )
Half-Price Books.... how I miss that store.
this wouldn't work for me; i love to fondle books too much.
It's just weird. I agree with why call it free if you have to pay??? If you say free, give me the service for free!! Do you know how many books you can get at Half Price Books for $30, and then you can sell them back or swap with friends or drop them off at goodwill when you don't want them anymore. (Or leave them in a box in your closet. . . ). I love books but this doesn't appeal to me. Now netflix we have used for about two weeks now and I love it. But we actually spend money at blockbuster, I don't usually spend money at the library.
Oh, dear, I think we're gonna need a 12 step group: Book Fondlers Anonymous........
Good thing book-fondling isn't a crime else I'd be doing life.
My public library has hours that are so limited that I don't even have a library card. Now book stores.......
I really need to see books before I buy them, but a netflix type service for books might actually work for me - it would all depend on the details. The concept of no late fees, for example......