Internet Book Swap vs Sell Your Used Books?

I’m trying to get back into books. The pile of books on the beside table’s been shamefully stagnant and its stasis is proportionate to the increasing amounts of time I spend on the computer. So in my return to reading books, I wondered which is better: swapping books or selling my used books to buy more books?

Mind you, neither option has to happen on the Internet, so this isn’t just an excuse for me to stay connected. Did you know, for example, the charity Oxfam is the second largest seller of used books? If you do want to explore the web-based options, though, broader selection likely awaits.

Book swapping websites: kudos to the people who take the time to set up these swapping schemes. You may have come across a Bookcrossing in your daily travels on public transport. What’s the book crossing? Your path. The idea is that someone Simply tags the book with a Bookcrossing ID number and “releases it into the wild”…like the Tube or on a park bench. Go on, it’s okay. For some reasons it’s not littering if it’s lit(t)erature. If you find a Bookcrossing tome, go to the website, enter the ID number, and fill in a journal entry about where you found the book. I’m going to by-pass the nitpicking point that all this time spent catching and releasing books might be used reading. I will suggest, however, that there are other sites that allow readers to simply list the books they have and arrange to barter by post. Bookins, for instance, lets you list your books, browse others' list, and even print out postage in the U.S.

Selling used books to buy more books: when I’m broke, I start a cull of bookshelves. Preferably someone else’s. There’s a gold in them thar shelves, if you play your cards right. I prefer Amazon zShops and Marketplace, but that’s merely because (like your broadband or gas service) after the hassle of getting it set up, I’m too afraid to switch. Once your account is verified, managing inventory is as simple as entering your book title or ISBN. Amazon’s system locates your book, shows you the new & used prices, and lets you determine your copy’s condition and price. Alternately, I’ve had friends tell me they use Ebay to sell books, but the hassle of an auction, again, would waste precious actual reading time. In both cases, selling books is less about getting more books to read and more related to cashflow (even if it is only 5, 10, or sometimes 20 quid every few weeks).

Verdict: for intellectual vigor, book swapping is the way to go for me. New books merely inspire guilt when I’ve not read them, but I feel virtuous when I’ve not read a used book. I’ve at least saved it from the dustheap. Book swapping or finding a Bookcrossing book also has an element of randomness that seems more connected to other people than simply going for a browse in the bookstore. Whether the person who’s passed the book on has read it or not, it still seems like a recommendation from a kindred reader spirit. In this way, too, book buying isn’t consumption for the sake of having/owning/collecting, but consumption for the sake of actually consuming ideas.

Think digital readers like the Sony Portable Reader System (PSR-500) and audio books beat paper anytime? Tell us about it in comments below.

Kimberly Springer lives, writes, teaches, and occasionally reads books in London. And though they’re all going digital, Kimberly recommends reacquainting yourself with your old friend, The Local Public Library.