Archive for the ‘Press & Media Clippings’ Category
Friday, November 6th, 2009
Read the whole article at FOX Business
Are your business struggles knocking you down? Before you consider wallowing in those daily dilemmas, tap into the determination of five entrepreneurs who found a way to succeed despite the most trying professional and personal hardships.
……George Burke, BookSwim.com, Newark, NJ
George Burke, 28, started his online book rental business with his best friend in 2007. The setbacks started early. First, they paid a consultant to draw up the specs of their business model, but never saw any results. They were out $1,500 and still had no plan.
After finally cobbling together a Web site, the company started operating with a little help from his partner’s parents, the basement of their home became the center of operations. That is, until the township’s zoning board learned of the home-grown operation and forced them to move. Not long afterward, Burke’s partner decided he wanted out of the business.
“First, moving into a warehouse compared to a rent-free basement was a scary prospect,” Burke said. “At the same time, my partner and I are negotiating the terms of him leaving. I had a real fear that there was no way I could do this on my own.”
Meanwhile, Burke’s chief financial officer unwittingly let bills “slip by,” which led to the company losing its line of credit. Burke slipped into a depression. After hitting rock bottom, he underwent hypnotherapy to conquer his fears and give it another shot. He then hired the right people to help him run the business.
Today, he has eight productive employees. He worked out a deal with his former partner, who now receives a portion of monthly revenues. In 2009, revenues are expected to top $1.5 million.
“I challenge myself to make sure this thing works,” Burke said. “You see these rainbows of hope and doors that open but it’s a matter of having the confidence to walk through them. Seeing small successes really keeps me going.”
Read the whole article at FOX Business
Posted in Press & Media Clippings, Website | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
Read the full article at WashingtonPost.com
……..Washington, D.C.: Somebody asked this question last week:
“Other than Amazon, is there a one-stop “Web Library” — on the Netflix model? Where I can borrow a book and return it in two weeks?” You were unsure. Does anyone else have an answer. Thanks.
washingtonpost.com: There’s BookSwim and, while it’s a different model, BookCrossing might interest you.
Monica Hesse: Thanks Paul — A friendly chatter sent me a link to BookSwim last week. I checked it out; it pretty much is the paper equivalent of Netflix, with a solid library of titles for 9.95 a month.
It still bemuses me……….
Read the full article at WashingtonPost.com
Posted in Newspaper (Online) | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
Read the full article at NewYorker.com
Book publishers dig short-story collections.
Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner do Rick James proud, name their sequel “Super Freakonomics.”
David Thomson parses a new oral history of Robert Altman.
Who would buy a comic book about the British philosopher Bertrand Russell? Apparently, lots of people.
Bookswim bets that people want to rent books.
Scriber announces that Don DeLillo’s “Point Omega,” due next year, will “take on the secret strategist in America’s war machine.”
The German-Turkish writer Seyran Ates calls for an Islamic sexual revolution in her new book.
The Lolita cover-design contest picks a winner.
Read the full article at NewYorker.com
Posted in Magazine (Online), Press & Media Clippings | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009
Read the article and listen to the podcast at MediaBistro.com
 Will people pay to rent books? Since 2007, one company has tried to build that new model.
Today’s guest on the Morning Media Menu was Chip O’Brien, director of customer service for Bookswim–a rental service for books. The company hopes to change reading the same way Netflix revolutionized the movie rental business. During the show, we discussed the delayed eBook release of Sarah Palin’s memoir and the struggle to determine a fair price for digital books.
Here’s an excerpt from the interview: “Most people have felt the difficulty of getting to the library or the bookstore. Most new bestsellers retail for 27.95 and you can spend three months on the library wait list. People say, ‘This is a great idea, I can’t wait to get started.’ People come to us with a lot of excitement.”
Read the article and listen to the podcast at MediaBistro.com
Posted in AUDIO CLIP!, Press & Media Clippings, Website | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
Read the full article at Babble.com
Have you and the family curled up with any good books lately? These chilly fall months are just the right time for it, and to help get you and the kiddoes inspired, we’ve teamed up with BookSwim (a.k.a. “the Netflix for books”) to give one lucky Babble reader a free 3-month membership to the service.
An online book-rental service that functions in much the same way Netflix does for DVDs, BookSwim puts a revolving list of reads — including a large selection of pregnancy, parenting and children’s titles — at your fingertips. You can hold onto your books for as long as you need without accruing fines or worrying about due dates, and when you’re finished, you can either send back what you’ve read or purchase your selections to trigger the next set of books in your queue.
Membership plans start at $9.95 for one book per month, and return shipping is free on all plans. You can learn more at BookSwim, but first, be sure to click here to enter our giveaway for a free 3-month membership to the service.
Good luck, and happy reading!
Read the full article at Babble.com
Posted in Blog, Press & Media Clippings | No Comments »
Thursday, October 1st, 2009
Read the article at About.com
If you’re like me, you love to read about pregnancy. With every pregnancy, I’ve spent hours pouring over pregnancy books, enjoying details about what my baby is doing or how to best care for myself in pregnancy or my baby once she or he was born. The problem is that books can get expensive! So here are some ideas on how to save money on those pregnancy and breastfeeding books:
* Used Books. These are typically very well preserved and cost very little compared to the new books. This can even be as low as a quarter for a book, depending on where you buy them. Used books can be found in used book stores, yard sales, library sales and even maternity and children’s consignment stores.
* Borrow. You can consider borrowing books both from the library or from friends. If you find a book that you love, then you can consider purchasing it for yourself. There are also some online book rental companies, like BookSwim.
* Trade Ins. If you have a ton of books on any topic, consider going to a bookstore that offers a trade in. You might trade in two books for one or get a monetary store credit but look at it as decluttering and saving money. How cool is that?
Read the article at About.com
Posted in Blog, Press & Media Clippings, Website | No Comments »
Friday, September 18th, 2009
Read the full article at Campus Times Online - LaVerne.edu
It is that time of year again, when we scrounge up the rest of our grant money or for most of us, the rest of our checking account, and buy textbooks.
Now, it would not be a terrible task if it were as simple as it sounds, buy a few textbooks. But at La Verne and at most educational establishments, purchasing textbooks is like pulling teeth and can be almost more difficult than your final in statistics.
If you have noticed over the years, or if this is your first, the bookstore has outrageous prices for the smallest books. It would almost be easier to donate an organ than buy that biochemistry lab book or the ‘easy’ reading for English.
We sit all summer long and wait for that dreaded first week of school, where we get the course requirements and rush to beat the other 100 plus students to get the text needed for the class. Upon arrival you are out of breath from running so far, you are worried about your financial aid and are wondering if you have enough money for these books, the last thing on your mind is if the bookstore has it in stock. You look around and they don’t.
Why is this process so difficult? Why are we more stressed about acquiring our textbooks than we are about passing the class?
Now it is not completely the bookstores fault on this one, the whole University is to blame.
If professors know that the publishers are slow to get the required text to the school, then why not hold off on the rush of reading the first few weeks or better yet, put the order in early.
Students do not particularly go to college because they are rich, that is why they are getting an education, to obtain a career and make money. We cannot afford to buy books we will not even use in class.
Once we cut out the ‘un-touched’ reading and let the bookstore know ahead of time what is going to be taught so that there are enough books, lets inform the students.
Amazon.com is a fast and easy way to obtain new/used textbooks without the stress of the bookstore, and they deliver anywhere. Why deal with the hassle of the bookstore if you can just order online?
And if buying the book is still not sounding good to you, then why not rent them?
Bookswim.com is the Netflix for readers and students throughout the world. Just by setting up a quick account, bookswim will take your order of books (textbooks) and get them to you in a matter of days allowing you to keep them for as long as needed.
Students need options, we cannot be expected to take the bookstores expensive way or the highway.
If the bookstore wishes to stay in business and not get turned into a lot for parking then a lot must change.
The bookstore is not terrible, just their methods of business.
So dear bookstore please listen and help out the students who keep your fine establishment working.
Read the full article at Campus Times Online - LaVerne.edu
Posted in Newspaper (Print), Press & Media Clippings | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
Read the article at PhillyBlubs.com
There’s Chegg.com for text books, but did you know about BookSwim.com for other books? It’s an online subscription service similar to Netflix, where you can rent, read and return books as quickly as you can turn the pages.
The service starts at low as $10/month.
You can get everything you need, from The Time Traveler’s Wife to that textbook for your chemistry class. Whatever you need, it seems like they have it.
For someone who goes through books as fast as I do, this could be a serious way to save some cash.
Read the article at PhillyBlubs.com
Posted in Press & Media Clippings, Website | No Comments »
Friday, September 11th, 2009
Read the full article at EcoLibris.net
Forbes.com is running the second round of the 2009 Boost Your Business competition. On the line: $50,000 in cash, and $50,000 in advertising on Forbes.com. 20 semi-finalists remain and among them are our partners and friends at BookSwim.
BookSwim rents books like Netflix rents movies, with the convenience of free home delivery and best-sellers guaranteed in stock. As you may remember we collaborate with them in their special offering of gift cards - a tree will be planted with Eco-Libris in honor of every gift purchased.
You can read more about BookSwim on Forbes.com, where you can find their 500-word write-up and watch their 30-second “elevator pitch” video. You can also read what they intend to do with the prize once they get it.
BookSwim is a great green business and we warmly recommend to vote for them!
The vote itself is very simple and can be made at http://boost09.perfectprize.com/voting/. Please don’t forget to confirm the link that gets sent to your email otherwise your vote won’t count. Make sure you uncheck any boxes so you don’t get spam.
VOTING ENDS SEPT 30!
Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
Read the full article at EcoLibris.net
Posted in Press & Media Clippings, Website | No Comments »
Monday, September 7th, 2009
Read the full article at LJWorld.com
Exercise your mind, expand your vocabulary, and savor language with a renewed interest in literature. And read a book for less with these tips……
……BookSwim.com
Book Swim offers plans that allow users to take out multiple books at a time. The $19.95 basic monthly fee still permits readers to check out as many books as they choose. You aren’t locked into a contract and have a read-to-own option. Through Book Swim’s college textbook service, students can save up to 60 percent on books ordered online……
Read the full article at LJWorld.com
Posted in Press & Media Clippings, Website | No Comments »
Thursday, September 3rd, 2009
Read the full article at WSJ.com
Problem: You spend too much on books and don’t have time to go to the library.
Solution: ……Bookswim.com…. …..lets monthly subscribers keep the books they like, at second-hand prices. The site focuses on recently released best-selling paperbacks and hardcovers. Their starter rental plan, for $19.98 a month, delivers three books at a time with no shipping or late fees. Students also can rent textbooks at pay-per-book semester rates (delivered through a third party, Chegg.com)……
Read the full article at WSJ.com
Posted in Company Blog, Newspaper (Print) | No Comments »
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Booklovers who can’t afford the latest best-seller will love today’s hot link.
