Speaking of Conserving...

Conserving has been on my mind lately.  My business is finally feeling the effects of the "downturn" and I've lost two clients in the last month due to job troubles.  In this I have been lucky, as other areas of Sacramento are much harder hit.

But this blog isn't about that...

For those of you who know me well, you know that I am an avid reader.  It is the one thing I can say I'm truly passionate about.  In the past, my most pressing problem would be scrounging up a new book to read.  Buying new books can be expensive, and leave you with a pile of books you may never read again.  Getting to the library requires planning, both in timing the acquisition of a new book with the ending of the old one, and in returning the book in a timely manner.  (This is last issue is what prompted us to switch from renting movies to Netflix.  Returning things is just not my strong suit!)

So, a while back, I discovered www.PaperbackSwap.com.  I've been a member for at least a year, and I still can't help talking about it.  For the price of postage, I've cleaned out my bookshelves of all but my favorite authors, and accumulated a "to be read" pile that will take me months to plow through.  I'll never be without a book to read again!

Here's how it works:  I list on the website all the books I'd like to get rid of, for this I am "gifted" 3 credits.  For every book that is requested from my list, and mailed, I receive an additional credit.  Each credit is good for one book from the millions listed by other users.  I can browse the list by genre, or author, or simply search for titles, and when I find a book that I want to read, I request it, and it is mailed to me.

Unlike the name suggests, the book list is not restricted to paperbacks.  In fact, they have any kind of book, including hardback, audio CD, and audio cassette, in addition to paperbacks.

The media mail price for postage for most paperbacks is about $2.23.  So for between $2-3 I get a new book to read, and get to pass mine on to someone who wants to read it.  This is even cheaper than buying from a used book store.

For someone who likes to read, this is a great conservation tool, in my book.