Okay, so most everything that’s wrong with Bookswim as a concept has already been pointed out in the comments at Hacking Netflix (which is where I found out about it), but still:
- The Netflix model is popular because it eliminates exorbitant late fees and allows the customer to decide how long to keep a movie out.
- Books, on the other hand, are freely available at public libraries. And while there are late fees associated with this system, and limits on how long a book can be checked out or how often renewed, the late fees are often not very high, nor are the limits often very short.
Their selection, too, is fairly limited. I tried plugging in a handful of the titles that I can’t find at my local library1, but none of them came up in my search. Their catalog is a little weird and incomplete2 and feels not at all like Netflix, but more like the selection you’d see at very small used bookstore, or at a very large garage sale. I suspect that a lot of the books come from their own shelves and donations.
I think Bookswim will appeal primarily, if not exclusively, to people without access to a public library (or even a decent used bookstore). But beyond that?
I give them credit for trying something new, and maybe some people will think it’s a terrific idea and a valuable service. I just know that I won’t be signing up anytime soon.
1 Oh, to have access to a university library again…
2 They have the second, third, and fourth books of Frank Herbert’s Dune series, but not Dune itself. Oh, and they have Steve Martin’s Shopgirl listed as science fiction.