Comments on: BookSwim: Netflix for books?

A new book-rental service follows the general concept of Netflix and may be worth a look for avid readers of popular, new fiction.

[gameraboy]

Um, how about free libraries? I just don't understand this product.

[Peter Glaskowsky]

As I said in the piece, the company offers reasons why BookSwim may be better than libraries, basically revolving around selection and convenience. I think they make the comparison look better than it really is. For a lot of people, the library is the right way to go. On the other hand, there are also a lot of people today who buy books on Amazon mostly because of the convenience, and then end up with books they don't intend to read again, so they give them away. BookSwim could offer similar convenience but at a lower price.

[julieg1264]

This sounds great. I live in an unincorporated area and our property taxes do no include library. We have to pay that out of our pockets if we chose to have library cards. Love the convenience of this as well.

[pjhenry1216]

How much would the library cost as compared to this?

[yanchineseguy]

I agree with Peter that this can serve a niche market, but I am doubtful that their business model will allow them to survive. The sending of multiple books at a time, though it makes sense for BookSwim, seems to be too restrictive for users.

[brigadoonmd]

I simply don't get it... if you're an avid reader, then surely it is more economical to invest in a Kindle or e-Reader. Right now on eBay, there?s a Sony e-Reader for $130. Therefore your payback is approx. 6-months. You get to keep the books without the issue of physical storage and you get them instantly? not waiting for snail-mail.

If money or use of electronics is an issue, then use the library? otherwise, electronic books are the way to go. Sorry, but I disagree with the author?s ?thumbs-up?.

[Peter Glaskowsky]

I really only think this is a good deal for a certain class of customer. If a fair number of those people can be persuaded to maintain memberships with BookSwim, I think the company can support itself. On the other hand, if BookSwim spends a lot of money chasing customers who just aren't interested, that would be a problem.

I have a Sony Reader and a Kindle, and I've written about them a lot here. They're great for prose-- text that you read more or less linearly-- but they're almost useless for technical non-fiction, especially anything with illustrations, like reference books or textbooks. There's very little of that kind of material available for e-book readers because those e-ink screens just don't have the speed or resolution to display detailed figures.

Also, even for fiction, the selection of e-books is relatively limited compared with paper books. It's a matter of how you shop for books. If you go to the Kindle store just looking for something interesting to read, you'll probably find something you'll enjoy. But if you're looking for a particular book, there's a good chance you won't find a Kindle version.

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[bookworm62x]

Booksfree.com has been doing this since 2000. They offer paperback and audiobook plans and their prices are far less.

[Peter Glaskowsky]

Thanks for the link-- it's good to know about another option.

[jenf2000]

I live in an area where the library system is terrible and as an avid reader I have used both Bookswim and Paperspine.com. From a service, selection and especially price perspective Paperspine is a much better value.

[Peter Glaskowsky]

Thanks for that link too.