Chick Literate

I read a lot. A lot. And I reread a lot, so I like to own books rather than borrowing them from the library. But after many years of cleaning out every bookstore I could find, and a few more placing enormous orders at Amazon, I stumbled across PaperBackSwap, which is pretty much the best thing that ever happened to my reading life (other than learning how to read).

What you do is list all the books you don’t want any more in the system, and when another member wants one you send it to them (you pay the postage), which earns you one credit. You can use that credit to order any book (there are well over 2 million currently listed) from another member (who pays the postage), and so on. So while the books aren’t free, they’re the next best thing – they’re a one-for-one swap. So far I’ve sent and received about 75 books, and couldn’t be happier. If a book you want isn’t available, you can put it on your Wish List so that you are automatically notified when it is listed. (I’ve received over a dozen books from my Wish List, including a couple that I couldn’t find anywhere else for less than $30!) So if you’re too broke to buy books, check out PaperBackSwap and get some for (almost) free!