Read it Swap it

Being a self confessed book addict often means having a dwindling bank balance and although there is nothing more I love than spending hours in book stores perusing the shelves for exciting new treats to throw on the ever growing 'to read' pile, my aank Account says otherwise. As a big advocate of the importance of libraries in society for young and old, I would suggest that your first port of call for a free read should always be your local library. However, if your library is anything like mine (way too small for the city), then it is good for when you are looking for a spontaneous read, but not if you have a particular book in mind. 

This is where Read it Swap it comes in (http://www.readitswapit.co.uk). I first read about Read it Swap it in India Knight's fantastic 'The Thrift Book' where she comes up with lots of great ideas on 'how to live well and spend less,' definitely worth checking out! 

Read it Swap it is a UK based online book swapping website. It is free to join and once on there you have access to currently 371,272 books from all over the UK. The idea is that on your account, you build up a list of the books you have available to swap. This is really easy to do because you can just input the ISBN number above the barcode on the back of your book and the website immediately pulls up all the information about that book. You just need to describe the current condition of the book and it is important to be honest in this case, because once your swap is completed the recipient of your book will mark you on how honest you were about the description of the book.

You also have a wishlist where you can add all the books you are interested in reading and when another member adds that particular book Read it Swap it will send you an email notification so you can request a swap.

How does the swap work?

Once you have found a book you like the look of, you click to swap with that member. They will then receive an email notification and a link to your collection of books. They can refuse to swap with you if there is nothing they fancy reading , but if they find a book they like, they will confirm the swap and then the user will be able to see your postal address.  Once you have each received each others books, you will confirm on the site and rate your fellow swapper based on the speed of the swap and the condition of the book (was it as described?). 

Swapping tips

• Always try and post your book within two days, if this is not going to be possible for some reason, email your fellow swapper and let them know there will be a delay.

• I have found that most people tend to send books second class, so don't waste your money shipping first class because as long as the books come within a week you are unlikely to receive a bad rating.

• The best way to send your book is to buy brown parcel wrapping paper and then wrap the book in three layers to ensure the book stays undamaged. The Post Office tend to consider this as a large letter so you will probably pay under £1.00 to post it. At first I was using large padded envelopes but it was getting too expensive.

I have completed 22 swaps up to now and am now officially a Read it Swap it addict!! Not only does it mean you can interact with fellow book lovers around the UK and maintain your reading addiction minus the expense, but there is also something old fashioned and exciting about receiving books in the post!!

Let me know if you are already on the site or plan to join and your experiences of it. Apologies if you are not UK based, but I would love to hear if you have something similar in your country.