A few weeks ago, I wrote about Book Crossing, an online service in which users share books and track books' journeys. While a nice idea, I was uncomfortable with the thought of leaving my books for just anyone to find.Last night, Matt told me about a program with which I'd be much more comfortable: Book Mooch. Instead of just leaving books laying about, books are shared with readers who have a keen interest in the specific book. I'm also drawn to the points system they use to keep track of books shared and/or mooched. I'm a sucker for punch cards, frequent shopper programs, you name it, so this is especially appealing:
| Action | Points |
| Add a book to inventory | + 1/10th |
| Give away book (within your country) | + 1 |
| Give away book (to another country) | + 3 |
| Mooch a book (within your country) | - 1 |
| Mooch a book (from another country) | - 2 |
| Acknowledge receiving a book you mooched | + 1/10th |
The best part of the whole program has to be the option to donate points to worthwhile charities, including public libraries and a "books for prisons" program. I'll always have a hard time parting with my books, and it will be tough not to choose the home to which my volumes travel, but I could jump on the Book Mooch bandwagon.
3 comments:
Sounds complicated. Hey, is that a Bible or a text book on your new header?
I may have a hard time parting with my books. They are too close to me.
My problem with the site is that the books I would be willing to part with are the same books other people would be willing to part with. (Nobody wants my copy of She's Come Undone, including me.) So I'm not sure how well the sharing will work.
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