Turnover
Another post propagandizing paperbackswap!
I can't remember if I've explained how it works yet. It's very simple. Members post books to share into the system. You search and browse through these books, and request ones that you want. The member who has it then prints out a label, wraps the book with it, stamps it, and chucks it in the mail to you. Yay. Of course, the selection is rather more like a used bookstore's than like amazon's. If a book you want is not currently posted (and this happens frequently), you can add it to your wishlist (here's my segue into this post's topic), and patiently wait until it's your turn to receive that book. The idea is that since there are so many members constantly posting books, including obscure ones, eventually you'll get your heart's desire (or at least, that book you're currently hoping for).
Paperbackswap is a relatively young, actively growing site. They often add new features. One of my favorite recent additions was to the wishlist. Now you can check on your status and see your position in the queue and how many people are wishing for that title. (The only thing I would add is something that reminds you where you started, so that you can actually recall your progress.) This ability really highlights the different popularities of various books in two ways: 1) obviously, many more people wish for more popular books, and 2) despite the length of the queue, you're much more likely to get a popular book, there are just a lot more people reading them and passing them on.
This is illustrated by the book Wicked, by Gregory Maguire. I've sort of wanted to read this book for a while since I hear it's really the only good one he wrote. I've read a few of his other novels, which failed to enchant me, but I keep hearing so many good things about Wicked that I feel I should give it a chance. Of course, since Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister and Lost were only so-so, I really didn't want to have to pay for Wicked, making it an excellent candidate to request from paperbackswap! (I think I've paid for less than 5 books since joining in January.) Initially, however, I was turned away by the length of the wishlist for Wicked, which is clearly a very popular novel. That was back when paperbackswap only told you how many people wished for a title, but not how you ranked within that queue. Eventually I decided I'd go ahead and wish for it. I can be patient, sometimes. And ever since joining I've been unable to maintain my shelf of books to be read at anything lower than 15, so it's not as if I'd be getting to it all that soon anyway.
So I wished. In mid-June, I wished for Wicked. I was #93. I frequently checked up on my position. I was astonished at how quickly I trickled down the wishlist! Last week I made it to #1 and Wicked is wending it's way through the US Postal Service from NY to here. It only took ~6 weeks! Given this success, I just added Truman Capote's In Cold Blood to my wishlist. I'm starting out at #115. Let's see how long it takes!
Contrast that to a book like Psmith in the City, by (the divine) P.G. Wodehouse, which I've been the only person wishing for since January 30 and have not yet received. Sigh. But sometimes you do get the quirky books on your wishlist. Some that I've gotten are a specific edition of Othello (I love the Folger Shakespeare Library ones) that I actually had to wish for for quite some time and Dr. Dogbody's Leg, by James N. Hall.
Incidentally, I have a paperbackswap member profile which you can check to see my wishlist and also the maps of where my books have gone and where they're coming from. I love those maps!
Lately I've received quite a few books from my wishlist, such as
I can't remember if I've explained how it works yet. It's very simple. Members post books to share into the system. You search and browse through these books, and request ones that you want. The member who has it then prints out a label, wraps the book with it, stamps it, and chucks it in the mail to you. Yay. Of course, the selection is rather more like a used bookstore's than like amazon's. If a book you want is not currently posted (and this happens frequently), you can add it to your wishlist (here's my segue into this post's topic), and patiently wait until it's your turn to receive that book. The idea is that since there are so many members constantly posting books, including obscure ones, eventually you'll get your heart's desire (or at least, that book you're currently hoping for).
Paperbackswap is a relatively young, actively growing site. They often add new features. One of my favorite recent additions was to the wishlist. Now you can check on your status and see your position in the queue and how many people are wishing for that title. (The only thing I would add is something that reminds you where you started, so that you can actually recall your progress.) This ability really highlights the different popularities of various books in two ways: 1) obviously, many more people wish for more popular books, and 2) despite the length of the queue, you're much more likely to get a popular book, there are just a lot more people reading them and passing them on.
This is illustrated by the book Wicked, by Gregory Maguire. I've sort of wanted to read this book for a while since I hear it's really the only good one he wrote. I've read a few of his other novels, which failed to enchant me, but I keep hearing so many good things about Wicked that I feel I should give it a chance. Of course, since Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister and Lost were only so-so, I really didn't want to have to pay for Wicked, making it an excellent candidate to request from paperbackswap! (I think I've paid for less than 5 books since joining in January.) Initially, however, I was turned away by the length of the wishlist for Wicked, which is clearly a very popular novel. That was back when paperbackswap only told you how many people wished for a title, but not how you ranked within that queue. Eventually I decided I'd go ahead and wish for it. I can be patient, sometimes. And ever since joining I've been unable to maintain my shelf of books to be read at anything lower than 15, so it's not as if I'd be getting to it all that soon anyway.
So I wished. In mid-June, I wished for Wicked. I was #93. I frequently checked up on my position. I was astonished at how quickly I trickled down the wishlist! Last week I made it to #1 and Wicked is wending it's way through the US Postal Service from NY to here. It only took ~6 weeks! Given this success, I just added Truman Capote's In Cold Blood to my wishlist. I'm starting out at #115. Let's see how long it takes!
Contrast that to a book like Psmith in the City, by (the divine) P.G. Wodehouse, which I've been the only person wishing for since January 30 and have not yet received. Sigh. But sometimes you do get the quirky books on your wishlist. Some that I've gotten are a specific edition of Othello (I love the Folger Shakespeare Library ones) that I actually had to wish for for quite some time and Dr. Dogbody's Leg, by James N. Hall.
Incidentally, I have a paperbackswap member profile which you can check to see my wishlist and also the maps of where my books have gone and where they're coming from. I love those maps!
Lately I've received quite a few books from my wishlist, such as
Specimen Days, Michael Cunningham(The last 2 are still on their way), some of which I've wished for for quite a while. Just like Christmas! I'm actually running pretty low on book credits since all of my books are packed in boxes until I move again in September, preventing me from going through and posting more of them. So I decided I should really post the book I finished reading last night. After all, I've been getting all this wishlist lovin', so I should really spread some too (about 8 people are wishing for this particular book). It was a strange book, but I did end up liking it (something I wasn't so sure about at the beginning). A book I'd like to ponder a little bit longer, and given it's complexity, it will be harder now that my copy is on its way to Rhode Island. Oh well. If you ever read Ghostwritten, by David Mitchell, let me know what you think.
A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
Dr. Dogbody's Leg, James N. Hall
Wicked, Gregory Maguire
We, Yevgeny Ivanovich Zamyatin
Labels: books
posted by Meg at
9:06 AM
1 Comments:
"We" was the book I was searching for in the original Russian our senior year! Do you remember?? How exciting. (Maybe no one's excited but me...)
By
Unspoken, at August 08, 2006 9:48 PM
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