Bookswim Beta: Netflix meets Barnes & Noble

Bookswim Beta opens :

“Changing the Way America Reads”

Could the price of books possibly have gotten any more expensive? During any given week, the average bestseller lists for more than $20. Read three of these in a month and you’re spending over $60! What you’re paying for is the right to own the book… but is ownership what you really want?

Yes!  Ownership is what I really want – sometimes.  And I think its a bit arrogant to think that book addicts like me can’t  navigate out the ins and outs of book shopping.

Changing the Way America Reads?   I don’t think so.  I think it’s a daring and well meaning endeavor; I just can’t imagine it being an attractive solution for people who read as much as I do.

I first heard about this service when it was still under development almost a year ago. I signed up for their mailing list so I would be notified when the service went online.  At the time I didn’t think the service would be good for me since I get very possessive about books that I like.  I read a lot of non-fiction and while I have an excellent memory for the printed word, I often want to go back to a book to pull out a specific quote or stat for a blog posting or just to use as a tag line somewhere.

This service will do nothing to compete with book stores.  It may, however, draw patrons away from already struggling public libraries.

My first thought, upon reading about the Bookswim service, was that it was basically a for-profit lending library.  I live in Philadelphia, the home of the United State’s first free library system.

 Despite the free library system’s roots here, Philadelphia libraries have gone downhill in the last few years.  There have been a lot of cutbacks due to budgetary issues.  My local branch, the only one within walking distance of my house (shown above), is no longer open on Saturdays.  They close at 5:00pm most days.  They are open until 8:00pm on Mondays and Wednesdays, the two days I’m most likely to work late.  When we first moved to Philadelphia I used the library fairly frequently.  It was a great place to get books I knew I wouldn’t want to keep.  The selection at my local branch did not compare favorably with a full size Barnes and Noble store I pass going to and from the office.  And that BN store doesn’t compare to what is available via Amazon.com.

I think we are spoiled in terms of the availability of the written word.  I can go to a flea market and buy the $20-$30 books that Bookswim decries as overpriced for only a few dollars each.  I can shop Half.com and find a selection more like a full size bookstore at prices more like the flea market. I also make a point of checking out the sales and clearance section at QPB (Quality Paperback Books).  I agree with the folks at Bookswim that the price of new books has gotten fairly insane, however, my solution has been to just not buy new books.  I like the idea of the service, but I think  it would be best suited for people without any kind of library system nearby, or for shut-ins without Internet access.  But, for me,  it really comes down to my need to keep books.  I have more books than I have shelf space for at the moment.  I also have about thirty volumes lent out at any given time. 

Yesterday I looked at some beautiful hand crafted oak bookcases made by some of the Amish folks out in the York – Lancaster area.  The shelves I liked most ran about $225.00.  A years membership with Bookswim, at it’s lowest rate, runs $239.88 ($19.99 x 12).  I think I’ll have that money and put it into a new bookcase every year and keep shopping for gently used books on Half.com, QPB.com, and the local flea markets.

Does anyone think this service would fit their needs, and if so, what is it about the service that you find appealing?