21st Century Literature discussion
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Bookswim.com: good idea, poor selection (for deep readers)
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William
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Jun 28, 2012 06:30AM
So it's Netflix for books. $24 a month gets you three books at a time, keep them as long as you want, return whenever, et cetera. So when I saw that in the news this morning, I was quite excited. Here at last, the service I've wanted for a while now. Since many of the books I read I know in advance I do not wish to own a copy of. So, I head to their website, look at the information, then flip to goodreads and pick four books from recent additions to my to-read list. Avoiding the more esoteric topics such as dusty volumes on the Black Hawk war of 1832, or Russian authors obscure to many though they should be familiar to all, I chose to search for "Grant: a biography", and "chemistry and other stories", and several others from a variety of genres and popularity levels. It seems that I am hopelessly esoteric. I could not find more than one book from all those I searched that were present in their inventories. In fact, the closest it came was when searching for the biography of Grant, it helpfully suggested similar titles recounting the life of David Bowie, and Oprah Winfrey. Now, I'm sure those books are fascinating, but they simply aren't to me. Looking around some of the titles they do have, it seems the service is at least at this point, only equipped to satisfy the tastes of the most popular and vanilla. So while I'm disappointed, perhaps those looking for more publicly vetted titles will be interested in their service. Myself, I'll be hoping that the service next expands into more literary areas. However, I'd be interested in the results of some of our members queries of its database. Please post your results and thoughts here!
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I haven't looked at the web site, but if I am not going to buy a book, why would I want to pay to borrow it if I can get it for free from the library?
Perhaps you just three days ago moved from a town where the library is rated the best in the USA to one where they have around 10 books in the non-fiction bio section for people beginning with 'n'. oh wait, that's me again. My new local library is adorable and is staffed by nice friendly people, but has just hundreds of books, I think.
Have you looked into seeing if your new library has any type of digital service?My local library, along with a number of others in my neck of the woods are all part of a digital library of sorts now. They buy a certain number of digital copies then, you log in with your library card number and can download to your Laptop or PC and transfer the files to an Ereader/Tablet. Depending on what agreement your library association has, after two or three weeks the ebook just disapears from your ereader.
Granted, if you are looking to read something like Fifty Shades of Grey (I'm going to go our on a limb here and guess that isn't something that interests you, Will) you could be number 1,000 in line and the online service may only have 20 copies so it could be months before you get to check it out.
Many libraries can also get you books from other libraries too.
Well, I've inter-library loaned materials from all over the world, and I own a kindle with more books for it than I'll admit to having. The topic is bookswim and whether or not it's a good implementation of the concept. I love Netflix, but they do a great job with rarer materials than bookswim seems to have so far. Will time tell? Many of the books I read have no electronic version, and most likely never will anyway. However their unpopularity means I can buy them used for a dollar. The obscure tomb on the Black Hawk War waiting for me at my old address being a good example.So weigh in on your thoughts on bookswim or what you'd do better!
Overall, I don't think I would use the service at this stage of my life. If its not a book I'm not going to want to purchase eletronically, used or new then I would just get it through a library.Looking at their site though what did catch my eye is that they also offer textbook rentals at a much cheaper rate and that is something that I wish had been around back when I had to buy a few chemistry and statistic text books brand new.
I took a look at Bookswim.com and it reminded me so much of the old Book of the Month Club in that its selection of books is very much geared to the mass market. As they have opted to cater to that segment of the reading public, they will most likely be very successful. You are correct though that the selection of books for anyone outside of the selected audience the choices are limited. Every business must identify their targeted consumer and then, to the best of their ability, cater to them (resourses are limited). For that reason alone I don't believe that they will expand to offer books that have a much smaller demand.This does open the door for another enterprising business person (that could be you Will) to open a business catering to, as you put it, more deep readers. If you do, please let us know where to sign up.
Uh, thanks, but I've got more than enough small businesses, trying to close one this week, even. I agree, theres a book of the month feel to it. But still, Netflix manages to be very deep, by having zillions of popular titles, but also a few less popular titles.
Netflix is pretty good at keeping more rare items in stock but a lot of that I think has to do with the amount of space it takes to keep a few copies of something that only five people may want to rent a year in stock. A dvd/bluray, especially in those sleeves that Netflix keeps them in, is nothing compared to a the amount of space a book takes up in a distribution center. Because of that I think Bookswim is going to have to cater more towards the bestseller list than the rarities list.
In making a decision whether the service would work for me, I would look at: (1) My situation, (2) my taste, and (3) cost value. (1) I personally would not be interested because I live where large libraries are available. If I were in the same position as Will who has moved to a town with a teeny tiny library, then...
(2) My taste is such that I tend toward more popular literature with an occasional need for the esoteric. I also don't mind owning the book, and I frequently re-sell them. This gets me to...
(3) I read 4-6 books/month (depending on size of the volume). Remember: My taste is 93% popular. At $24, that would be $4-$6 each. Many popular books (and esoteric books) can be purchased used for $4-$8 (includes shipping) on half.com and Amazon. Then I recycle and recoup some of the cost when I re-sell.
I would do a mixture: Purchase used and re-sell books, occasionally find something at the teeny tiny library, purchase some Kindle books, and share Kindle books.
If I were like Will and didn't want to have them on a shelf, then it appears that BookSwim really might be a good choice, although the occasional esoteric or Grant biography would have to be purchased. By the way, here it is for $.75 + $3.99 shipping. ;-) http://product.half.ebay.com/Grant-A-...
Enjoy your new home, Will!
Often tiny libraries will get you books from other libraries. And more and more is available to borrow in digital format.
Lol, the topic keeps drifting to me getting books! I regularly use the Nichols Library in Naperville, IL, USA, the #1 ranked library in my country for populations above 100k, i can reserve a book on their iPhone app, inter library loan, download materials, and I have unopened books at home from Abebooks and Aliberis, and an empty house to put them, don't worry about me!The point about physical storage is a good one, but netflix stores the rarer DVDs at whatever the last regional center they hit is, so there's a difference, but not an impossible to overcome one. The capitalization of such an infrastructure would be daunting, which is why I plan to scan bookswim's catalog every several months... Netflix started off small too.
Try Booksfree.com, they have been around a lot longer and have over 250,000 titles to choose from, not just the main stream popular stuff. I understand everyone's argument about using the library, but not everyone has access to a library, at least not easy access.
Though I myself probably would not use the service, as 24$ a month is probably more then I spend on books when I buy them, as I buy used a lot and then if I don't keep them can use them for trade backs at used bookstores. But it is an interesting idea, and on the library question, personally I usually cannot finish a book in the allotted time that the library gives you when you check out. This service would offer less time restraints.
Silver wrote: "...usually cannot finish a book in the allotted time that the library gives you when you check out...."LOL! One of the library systems I use has 4 weeks with up to 3 renewals for most books (NEW are generally 2 wks), so one of the things I really like is being able to renew online -- saves both the time and the embarrassment of facing the circulation checkout multiple times. (If on hold for another patron, renewals are blocked.) But another library I use has 2 wk checkouts, and I often find those difficult.
One of the issues that is increasingly looming is how to pay for libraries -- taxes, subscriptions, private endowments,.... Our governor tried to cut interlibrary loan spending, which deeply impacted my assessment of his political acumen and suitability for wider responsibilities. A wide and deep Friends of the Library effort saved the program, at least providing the possibility of creating alternate funding if such ever becomes necessary.
