December 26, 2009

Goodreads Book Swap

Goodreads recently introduced a new book swapping feature. The fact that the requester pays for the shipping is a big advantage over Bookmooch's point system. I've accumulated more points on Bookmooch than I know what to do with or probably will ever be able to use.

However, my initial interactions as a requester on Goodreads leave something to be desired. I have a multiple day unanswered request for one book. For the other book I wanted I got a note back saying the person was still reading the book and had promised it to someone else, to which I want to respond, "THEN WHY IS IT EVEN LISTED AS BEING SWAPPABLE!" Breathe-in, breathe-out, assume good faith.

Even in light of these setbacks I'm happy for books that would otherwise be collecting dust on my shelves to have found new homes. While my role on both of these sites seems to have been more of a book source versus a sink I can only hope that someday a book on my wishlist will show up and actually be truly available.

Tags: bookmooch books goodreads