Archive for November, 2008
Friday, November 21st, 2008
Each month, we’ll be asking you, the BookSwimmers, to come up with a top ten list of books. This month will be a little wacky, since we’re starting at the end of November, so we’ll continue it through the end of December and start a new one fresh in January.
Look out for updates to this monthly list every Friday. We need YOUR help to make it work!
So, in the spirit of the holiday season - perhaps we can call it the “Holiday Spirit”® - we’re asking you to submit your favorite book that takes place during the Holiday Season (and no, we’re not talking about Labor Day through Columbus Day - not that there’s anything wrong with that).
Simply comment on this entry to nominate your favorite holiday title. We, the Literary Life staff, will compile all of the nominations and produce a list of ten. There will then be a run-off in which you can all vote.
Can I get a “Whoopie”? Nominate your favorite holiday book in the comments section.
Posted in The Literary Life | 5 Comments »
Thursday, November 20th, 2008
In college, I was an English major. The immortal words of Lewis Caroll carried me through many a panicked night in college, when successfully writing the first sentence of my paper seemed slightly less likely than my odds of winning the lottery. How do you begin a paper, a column, any written expression of personal thought when you’re faced with all that white space to fill?
To answer that question, Caroll provided me with the most helpful advice I’ve ever heard: “Start from the beginning, proceed to the end, then stop.”
So here we are, the first column of the Literary Life, ready to talk about the beginning. I don’t think it starts with BookSwim, the concept of online rental, or the older concept of book rental itself. Why are we here writing this?
For me, it starts with those agonizing nights in college staring at the screen. I spent hours finding the perfect way to talk about Nabokov’s sentences, and I drank a lot of coffee so I could spend all night thinking about books.
It’s been a few years since my last paper deadline, but I’ve kept the urgency of those late nights with me. Books are never just about grades, or even their characters, styles or authors. We read to experience another person’s mind from the inside out, to remember what we could never learn in our own lives. Books are about sharing the recorded experiences of humanity, and when we pause to engage in the necessarily slower act of reading, it is always a search for meaning, a defiance of fast-paced superficial modern lifestyles.
That’s the beginning: the act of pausing to read and think, or in my case, being paralyzed for hours finding the right thing to say. Whichever flips your pages, we’re here to talk about books and reading, and here we are.
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Thursday, November 20th, 2008
So, the debut column. This is in no way daunting, I assure you. It’s not as if I have a mountain of expectation up to which I must live.
Sure, I could write about the book I’m reading, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, or I could explain the relationship between Omega-6 and Omega-3 fatty acids and the role they play in maintaining, among other things, healthy blood pressure (the passage I most recently finished)…I could even sheepishly admit that I’ve been reading this book, a little at a time, for the past 4 months (though, admittedly, I’ve read three other books during that time, as well).
However, I have decided to utilize this opportunity to shamelessly plug that this new column is a weekly (Thursdays) part of the new BookSwim feature, “The Literary Life,” and that I’ll also be co-hosting a weekly podcast (Mondays) with fellow columnist and BookSwim vet, Chip.
So, come back often, see what’s going on, and take a genuine interest in what I have to say because, after this week’s first column, I anticipate having more to say than just the sheer fact that I have something to say. Also, dependent upon which of my former girlfriends you talk to, I may or may not be starved for attention (Hint: I am). I have something to say! Find out what, next week. 
Posted in The Literary Life | 1 Comment »
Thursday, November 20th, 2008
Read the full article at The Huffington Post
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Low-Impact Gift Subscriptions: Rather than giving a gift subscription to a glossy magazine (all that paper and ink, not to mention the ramifications of cross-country shipping seems a bit wasteful - certainly online is the way to go), considered these quirkier eco-alternatives.
1. Library Style
As nice as it is to receive books for the holidays, as many as 20 million trees are cut down every year for American book production. Consider giving used books, or - better yet - look into BookSwim, which is like Netflix for library books. It’s the first national online service that rents paperback and hardcover books to subscribers. BookSwim ships the books out to readers who can enjoy them at their leisure and then send them back, at which time more books are sent to them. Not only will this promote library book reading, but it’s also a great way to save you gas (and time) driving to the library. The books are shipped for free in 100% recycled plastic bags……….
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Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
Read article at RedOrbit.com
An online book company is following in the footsteps of home video delivery outlets like Netflix, by offering a book rental and delivery service.
The company called “BookSwim” allows readers to order books and have them delivered right to their door for a set fee each month. The subscription service sends between three and 11 books at a time to its customers, who can keep them for as long as they like with no late fees.
Once users are finished with at least two books, the reader sends them back to BookSwim in a pre-paid return bag that’s included with every shipment.
The company also offers gift subscriptions that can help expand the amount of reading you can give, without running up a big tab or cluttering up someone’s home with another stack of books.
Subscribers can choose from four different membership levels, with prices ranging from $19.98 per month for their “light reader” three-at-a-time plan to $39.94 per month for the “voracious reader” 11-at-a-time plan.
So far, the company’s most popular plan allows users to have up to 7 books at a time, costs $29.96 per month, with a $1.50 per month discount for a full year paid in advance. The company offers a half-price discount to new members for the first month.
After launching in May 2007, The Newark, N.J.-based company shipped its 100,000th book in early October, said marketing director Eric Ginsberg.
Ginsberg said BookSwim has customers from New York City to Alaska. He believes it appeals to city dwellers who like the convenience of having the books delivered and to rural residents with little access to public libraries or major bookstores.
“We thought when we started the service we would get a lot more rural than urban, but what we got was a good mix,” Ginsberg said. “People want conveniences, they want things to come to them.”
Ginsberg said users also have the option of buying a book they’ve ordered, with the price calculated based on the age of the book and the number of times it has been lent out. He said about one-third of the books sent out are new.
The company is now offering a trial membership for a specific plan for as short as one month, which may be best suited for a family of readers on your shopping list, since three books at $19.98 a month may be too steep for many readers.
However, Ginsberg said they do not offer a one-book rental plan, because it’s more cost efficient to ship multiple books.
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Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
They’re calling it “Netflix for books” and the most surprising thing about it is that no one has tried it before.
BookSwim is an online book rental and delivery service. If you don’t have time to run to the library and feel guilty about cluttering up your house with more books, this is an intriguing alternative that delivers books-for-rent right to your doorstep.
And if you’re looking for a gift that keeps on giving, BookSwim offers gift subscriptions that would allow your giftee to enjoy several books for the price of what it would have cost you to buy and wrap one. (A three-book trial membership costs $19.98.)
Here’s how it works: Readers order books online and receive them through the mail. They can choose among plans that would allow them to receive from three to 11 books at a time. These books can be kept for as long as the reader likes with no late fees.
When finished with at least two books, the reader sends them back to BookSwim in a pre-paid return bag that comes with every shipment.
Readers who fall in love with their books have the option to buy them. (About a third of the books shipped out are brand new – the others are “pre-read.”)
There are four different membership levels, ranging from $19.98 per month for their “light reader” three-at-a-time plan to $39.94 per month for the “voracious reader” 11-at-a-time plan.
Of course, it’s not for everyone. Online comments range from, “This is the best idea I ever heard” to “How lazy can people be not to be able to go to the library?” But the library, others note, often has a waiting list for the most popular books. With Bookswim, this is less likely to be a problem.
BookSwim’s inventory is good but – naturally – not as good as Amazon’s. But then again, BookSwim won’t clutter up your bookshelf. And there’s also the satisfaction that comes with cutting your consumption and making use of a shared resource. In addition, BookSwim plants trees for every gift card sold.
Of course, technology promises other options for the voracious reader. As one online customer wrote: “I am waiting for E-ink flexible readers.” But in the meantime, she added, “This is a nice option for girls on the run.”
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Tuesday, November 18th, 2008
Read the full article at The Strollerderby Blog at Babble.com
Anyone who has both used Netflix and had an overdue library book knew it was only a matter of time until the same model was used for books. And in fact, there are a few companies out there who have been sailing in those waters, like Booksfree and Book Swim. Book Swim is now specifically promoting itself to pregnant women (”It costs a lot to buy all those pregnancy books only to discover that most of them are useless and mostly designed to scare the crap out of you.” Ahem, my words, not theirs) and also parents of the voracious read-to-me set (”save money spent on buying lots of children’s books that can be rented instead.” Their words, not mine).
While it appeals on some level, I have quibbles with the execution: They have not yet gotten the one of the main keys to Netflix’s success, which is having everything, not just the most popular stuff. I looked up several of my daughter’s favorites on Book Swim, and they weren’t there. Not only that, but her not-all-that-obscure beloved tales don’t come anywhere near meeting the fine-print criteria for the cheery “just tell us what you want and we’ll buy it for you!” option, which include “an Amazon sales rank of at least 20,000.” That’s pretty narrow folks. I think there must be 20,000 best-selling unofficial political biographies alone.
If you’re going to charge $20 to 40/month for 3 to 11 books at a time (Book Swim. Don’t get fooled by their low intro rate—it’s one month only) or $10 to $50/month for 2 to 15 books at time (Booksfree), you need super-duper-special selection and service. Remember folks, you are competing against free. I suppose if I had to drive to the library, or had a work schedule that conflicted with its hours, the delivery aspect would be more of a draw and feel like less of an environmental faux pas, but from my home office it just looks like one more lost excuse to get out of the house for 15 minutes. (And it’s worth noting that many libraries apparently will deliver too under some circumstances.)
I’m sure the right person with sufficient capital could iron out these issues, add a recommendation engine, and be really in business. (Unless the higher cost of shipping books compared to DVDs just makes it an idea whose time hasn’t come after all. It’s possible.)
But what really troubles me, of course, is the idea of abandoning the library. Libraries still serve as one of the rare public meeting spaces not devoted to commerce. They help kids with research and adults with job hunts and starting businesses and their own formal and informal educations. Libraries buy books based on both popularity and serving their public. They tend to fight the good fight to make sure controversial material is available. You know, good qualifty-of-life, bastion of democracy stuff.
We recently had a budget vote on a large plan to expand and upgrade the branch libraries up here in Albany, so I’ve seen the research about the social and economic benefits of a good library. But I’ve also heard from the kooks who say that with the Internet and big-box bookstores, we don’t need libraries anymore, and I hate the idea of giving them more ammunition. I know book renters would still pay their library taxes, but usage rates and general familiarity are crucial to keep libraries’ budgets away from the ax.
I think with the right savvy, libraries are up to the task of competing with even an improved book rental service. Already, through inter-library loans you can get almost anything, and with my countywide system’s online reservation system, it’s almost as easy as Netflix to request something. A little slow to get it, but that should be fixable. Make renewing easier, with a warning system when something’s coming due, and you’re most of the way there for me.
Besides, for picture books, the library already wins hands down: My daughter gets the tactile adventure of browsing the shelves and discovering hidden gems, and we get the excuse of “Oh, that has to go back to the library now!” when a not-quite-gem has worn out its welcome.
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Tuesday, November 18th, 2008
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NEW YORK (AP) _ If you aren’t sure which books to give that avid reader on your gift list this holiday season, how about considering every title she could name?
BookSwim, an online book rental and delivery service, offers gift subscriptions that can help expand the amount of reading you can give, without running up a big tab or cluttering up someone’s home with another stack of books.
The Web site, www.BookSwim.com, lets readers order books and have them delivered right to their door for a set fee each month. Modeled on the online movie rental company Netflix, the subscription service sends between three and 11 books at a time to its customers, who can keep them for as long as they like with no late fees. When finished with at least two books, the reader sends them back to BookSwim in a pre-paid return bag that’s included with every shipment.
BookSwim offers four different membership levels, with prices ranging from $19.98 per month for their “light reader” three-at-a-time plan to $39.94 per month for the “voracious reader” 11-at-a-time plan. Their most popular plan, which allows users to have up to 7 books at a time, costs $29.96 per month, with a $1.50 per month discount for a full year paid in advance. The company offers a half-price discount to new members for the first month.
The Newark, N.J.-based company, was launched in May 2007 and shipped its 100,000th book in early October, said marketing director Eric Ginsberg.
BookSwim has customers from New York City to Alaska, and Ginsberg said it appeals to city dwellers who like the convenience of having the books delivered and to rural residents with little access to public libraries or major bookstores. “We thought when we started the service we would get a lot more rural than urban, but what we got was a good mix,” Ginsberg said. “People want conveniences, they want things to come to them.”
Readers who decide they can’t part with a book also have the opportunity to buy it from BookSwim, with the price calculated based on the age of the book and the number of times it has been lent out, Ginsberg said. He said about one-third of the books sent out are new.
If you’re considering giving a gift, you can buy a trial membership for a specific plan for as short as one month. A trial may be best suited for a family of readers on your shopping list, since three books at $19.98 a month may be too steep for many readers. The company doesn’t offer a one book rental plan, because it’s more cost efficient to ship multiple books.
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Monday, November 17th, 2008
Hello my favorite BookSwimmers! (if you read this blog, then you’re among my favorite)
Starting this week, The Literary Life on BookSwim.com will become an on-going feature here on the BookSwim blog, hosted by Chip and Eric (that’s me…Eric, not Chip), and of course, contributed to by YOU! Woo-hoo! That’s right: by popular demand, we’ve opened up the comments section for our blog.
There will be weekly and monthly content updated on a rolling basis. For now, this entry is kind of a test so we can make sure everything works in time for the big launch, this Thursday.
Is this the worst idea BookSwim has ever had? Discuss in the comments section!
Posted in The Literary Life | 4 Comments »
Monday, November 17th, 2008
Read the full article at NJBiz.com
NEWARK — BookSwim, an online book rental service whose customers pay $9.95 a month to rent books, has moved into the high-tech incubator at New Jersey Institute of Technology, in the state’s largest city.
George Burke, who founded the company in May 2007 with fellow NJIT graduate Shamoon Siddiqui, says he’s looking forward to tapping engineering students as interns, and getting ideas from the dozens of entrepreneurs now building their businesses at the NJIT Enterprise Development Center.
Burke packed and shipped the books himself when the company was located in a Matawan warehouse.
Then he outsourced that task to a fulfillment house, donated 13,000 books to the Newark Public Library and freed his nine-person team to figure out how to lower mailing costs (they use U.S. Postal Service media mail) and win more customers.
Burke said BookSwim is profitable; last month, the company rented its 100,000th book.
Why not just go to the library? Burke said your library may only buy one copy of the best-seller you want to read; BookSwim bought 200 copies of the popular James Patterson novel “Double Cross.”
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Saturday, November 15th, 2008
Read full article at MiamiHerald.com
While traditional ink-on-paper books will dominate the Miami Book Fair International, paperless electronic books are gaining traction as the wave of the future……
….For all the speculation over whether e-books will catch on and whether books of any sort will have an audience in the coming years, George Burke, chief executive officer of BookSwim.com, sees a silver lining.
BookSwim, which operates in a similar way to Netflix — it rents books at a small fee, ships them for free, provides free return shipping containers, and doesn’t charge late fees — has seen its profits rise in 2008.
”It isn’t the same as e-books, but what it indicates is that people who love books are more than willing to trade in them using Web technology the same as they would movies or TV shows,” Burke says. “I believe that love for traditional books won’t change. But e-books will enhance that love even more.”
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Friday, November 7th, 2008
As of November 2008,
Renting books, rather than purchasing, helps lower the number of trees cut down each year for virgin paper. BookSwim also plants trees for every gift card we sell.
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As a combination of these efforts, BookSwim has planted or otherwise saved enough trees to reduce 10 TONS of carbon emissions! That’s like taking 14,000 cars - all the yellow taxicabs in New York City - off the street…
…enough cars to fill a parking lot the size of152 football fields!
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BookSwim books have traveled over 360 million miles.
That’s like going to the sun and back…TWICE!
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BookSwim has shipped over 100,000 books! Just imagine how many gallons of gasoline that’s saved!
BookSwim members have a total of $1,432,183.75 worth of books in their rental pools. That’s money they’ll never spend!
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Tuesday, November 4th, 2008
Read article at Eco-Libris
We are happy to announce on a collaboration with BookSwim (http://www.bookswim.com), the premier online book rental service!
BookSwim, established June 2006, is the first full-service online book rental service lending you paperbacks and hardcovers, Netflix-style, directly to your house, without the need to purchase. Whether it’s new releases, bestsellers, or classics, they have something for everyone, with free shipping both ways! Read your books as long as you want — no late fees! Even choose to purchase and keep the titles you love!
Now BookSwim is offering virtual gift cards which are the perfect gift for those who love to read. A tree will be planted with Eco-Libris in honor of every gift purchased. We had done it with BookSwim last year and we’re happy to partner again this year to green up their gift cards.
BookSwim are also giving incentives to customers to purchase gift cards between now and December 31, including a $5 gift card to be used by you for every $50 gift card purchased. Similarly, for every $100 gift card you buy, you will receive your own $20 gift card. Additionally, 2 lucky winners will receive a $299 Sony Blu-Ray Disc Player. One entry for every gift card purchase. Check it out at https://www.bookswim.com/gift.html
BookSwim is a great service and as a rental service it also has green qualities, similar to those of libraries due to the fact that it helps to maximize the use of every copy that is already printed. You can read more on BookSwim and the environment here: You can read more at: http://www.bookswim.com/media_kit_vision.html#theEnvironment
So don’t forget to check out BookSwim’s gift cards - it’s a great affordable (and green!) gift for the holidays for every book lover.
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Sunday, November 2nd, 2008
Read article at Cool Mom Picks
I used to collect books the way other people collect whatever it is they collect, but since having kids, my book-buying budget has been re-allocated to board books, and a trip to the library means sitting in a circle for story time. Then I found BookSwim, and I cursed myself for having not found it sooner.
It’s like Netflix, except for books. Add titles to your pool in the order you’d like to receive them, then keep them as long as you like. If you can’t bear to part with a title, you can even buy it.
You’ll find a huge variety of titles–bestsellers, classics, nonfiction, kids’ books–and unlike the waiting list at the public library, it won’t take months to get your hands on those must-reads. I’m so enamored with BookSwim that I’m buying a membership as a holiday gift to myself. Well, unless one of my friends or family members beats me to it. Hint, hint. -Julie
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