BlogHer - Got Free Books? - Comments

I know what you mean about

sorchaogle — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 00:37:55 -0500

I know what you mean about American-centric stores, and as someone in Europe it does annoy me too. But I have to remind myself that all good ideas have to start somewhere, and if they are honestly that great, they'll spread out sooner or later.

"Releasing" does get easier, honestly! there are ways to sooth the letting go, such as putting the books in clear plastic bags to stave off the bad weather.

Regular bookcrossers also seem to instinctively find those special shops where decent books are sold really cheapily, or even free - e.g. libraries closing down or charity shops who would otherwise be pulping the books. These are the books that are the often left out wild. In releasing the books you get used to the fact that it might not get picked up and let it go - it can be quite freeing actually!

And those more special, more expensive books are often not "Wild" released but passed around by hand and post across the world for loads to share.

The love of reading

Creatively Belle — Mon, 28 May 2007 20:51:15 -0500

Reading this I look across at one of my bookcases and see all the stacks of books waiting to be read and nearly start dreaming of going out and collecting a heap of books to bring home to read (and actually reading all of them!).

I'm at the stage of the year where I can only bring a new book into the flat when I've finished one.

I usually get my books by sharing, book sales or 2nd handbook shops. The idea of posting books about is novel to me. When our little circle of book readers have all read a book we give them to a regional library (we read them without harming the book).

I do markets and at Mosman markets (on this Saturday, yeh!) the local library sells books for just $1.10 and I always come away with something.

If you love a good dry, witty humour and are curious to explore the male perspective explore Patrick O'Brian and start with "Master and Commander". I love this series and they are the only books I've managed to re-read and love them.

For a read from another land try exploring "Home" by Larissa Behrendt published by UQP ISBN 0 7022 3407 9. It is a lovely read and maybe a local library could bring it in as part of their program for respecting writings by native peoples of the world (sharing such similar experiences with white fella settlement).

For a casual summer read I enjoy the Scottish writer Meg Henderson. She has also written about migration to Canada.

Happy reading!

Smiles
Belinda

Creatively Belle - Earring Holders and Jewelry Designs

Burning Books

Catherine Morgan — Mon, 28 May 2007 17:14:19 -0500

I just came across this - and couldn't believe it -
Man Burns Books as Act of Protest

Catherine Morgan
Women 4 Hope and Be The Change You Want To See In Yourself

Trading & Bookcrossing

sassymonkey — Sun, 27 May 2007 10:27:26 -0500

I haven't really gotten into book trading online. Now, this is just my personal impression, but I find the most of them are more geared toward American readers which is totally understandable. But as a Canadian I find them less convenient. I do frequently share and trade with my online friends though. Especially if I've blogged about a Canadian book that they cannot access easily.

Bookcrossing is great. My only problem is that I worry that someone won't find the book or it will get rained on, etc. I've actually found a few books in the wild and have left them in the hopes that someone who has never heard of Bookcrossing will pick them up.

Sassymonkey and Sassymonkey Reads.

Bookcrossing is great! I've

sorchaogle — Sat, 26 May 2007 14:35:26 -0500

Bookcrossing is great! I've been a member for years and have met so many great people and read so many authors I would never have tried otherwise

ooooh, also, if you trade or

Lyssann — Sat, 26 May 2007 10:19:20 -0500

ooooh, also, if you trade or just want to create good book karma: www.bookcrossing.com

Healthy Manifest

are you a book trader?

landismom — Fri, 25 May 2007 21:05:56 -0500

There are some great book trading sites out there. I've cut down my book spending considerably by trading gently used books on sites like bookins.com and bookmooch.com.

Got Free Books?

sassymonkey — Fri, 25 May 2007 18:55:52 -0500

One of the things about being someone who goes through books the way some people go through water is that you are always looking for another way to get books. We already know about the library and second-hand stores. Luckily one of the things about having a litblog is that people know that you are looking. BlogHer CE Denise sent me a really great link.

She directed me to an amazing list of the best places to get free books. Brilliant! Some, such as Librivox I already know about and use. Some I've been curious about and never really got around to checking them out. DailyLit is one of those. I happen to think that idea of reading something like War and Peace is fascinating. I think it would really make me sit down and really focus on the language. But it's divided into 675 parts so even if I were to receive a section everyday it would still take me more than two years to finish. And how often would I actually sit down and read it on the same day? But yet I still often think about doing it.

There are others on the list that I've never heard of. I had to click on PinkMonkey because of the name alone. I was actually pretty surprised by their selection. They have everything from classics to The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

Since getting my butt back to the gym I've decided I really love audio books. So I was very exciting to find Podiobooks

. I was skeptical of the idea of free, non-public domain audio books. So I checked out their FAQs and they are free and copyrights are respected. Good stuff! I found I hadn't heard of many of the books on the site. That could be dangerous! New authors! And they have a young adult section! I think I'm smitten.

Books are wonderful. Free books are fantastic!

Contributing editor Sassymonkey also blogs at Sassymonkey and Sassymonkey Reads.