New Use for Twitter #freebookclub
First off, I am indebted to @Wossy (Jonathan Ross) for starting the Twitter book club. Great idea! I love the thought of reading a book every week and sharing reviews on Twitter. Awesome.
Except for this: I cannot afford a new book every week, or even every two weeks, maybe not even once a month. I'm not saying I can't pick up a new-to-me book at a sale, but I can't actually afford a shiny new-new book every month, certainly not every week.
Ah, but there is the library, Brother Jack. Can't you go to the library? Not actually feasible for a book-per-week format. My local library (which is a small town library) is not necessarily going to have even one copy of the week's book. Even if they have one, I might not be the first person there to check it out . I can get on the waiting list, but the book most likely will not come back that week. I could request an inter-library loan, but that can, and often does, take weeks.
Having worked in the Memphis library, I can tell you that a book-a-week format does not work even with a huge city library. A book club book will most likely already be checked out when you walk in--even if the library knew about the book club ahead of time and ordered more copies--sure, you can get on a waiting list, but you might not get the book for weeks, even if the library orders even more copies due to the number of holds on the book. Orders take time to be delivered. They also take time to process. Most people probably don't think about book processing, but library books have to have book covers and labels and security strips and listings in the catalog, and that all takes time. Oh, and money, in case you were wondering about public library budgets.
No library can actually afford to get enough copies each week for a book-a-week book club (or even a book-a-month club) for every person who wants to read the new book each week (or month--seriously, I've seen per month tried). To be brutally honest, these books would
1) possibly no longer be that popular to check out after it's week (or month) in the spotlight
2) take money from the overall collection that could have been spent on several different books for people with a wide variety of tastes instead of multiple copies of the same book
3) take up shelf space that could have been used for several different books instead of multiple copies of the same book. Part of the price of a book for a library is the price of its shelf space in terms of building upkeep. Unlike Unseen University's library, most local libraries do not have infinite shelving.
OK, so the library is not going to work. Well, Jack, you are S.O.L., and so is everyone else who has to limit their book budget. I know. Sucks to be us.
But wait. There are like a metric ass-ton of free books on the web. Not kidding. You could be reading those books and sharing them with your friends. The web has an answer. Free books that everyone can check out at once. A virtual lending library. Rock. A great source for a book-a-week club that is not going to eat your book budget (or the food budget that you would gladly parlay into a book budget), or for that matter the ever-dwindling budget of your local library.
Oh, and hey, apparently there are some new/up-and-coming authors out there who have free books available on the web. Authors who need an audience. They would, I am sure, love to see their books discussed on-line. This could be a great venue for up-and-coming authors. Did you hear me, up-and-coming authors? Get your free-for-download book discussed on Twitter this week. Be what the buzz is about.
Yeah, so that's my idea. Thanks again to @Wossy. This is my open-source version of your idea. Speaking of open-source--book reader software is out there if you need it.
I'm thinking it might take a bit to get things rolling, so, I'm going to start on a bi-weekly, and see where this goes. First book for review is a short story collection by Derek J Goodman @ derekjgoodman available here: http://bit.ly/IJFhx
Oh. I"m @howlingmadjack on Twitter. See you there.
Except for this: I cannot afford a new book every week, or even every two weeks, maybe not even once a month. I'm not saying I can't pick up a new-to-me book at a sale, but I can't actually afford a shiny new-new book every month, certainly not every week.
Ah, but there is the library, Brother Jack. Can't you go to the library? Not actually feasible for a book-per-week format. My local library (which is a small town library) is not necessarily going to have even one copy of the week's book. Even if they have one, I might not be the first person there to check it out . I can get on the waiting list, but the book most likely will not come back that week. I could request an inter-library loan, but that can, and often does, take weeks.
Having worked in the Memphis library, I can tell you that a book-a-week format does not work even with a huge city library. A book club book will most likely already be checked out when you walk in--even if the library knew about the book club ahead of time and ordered more copies--sure, you can get on a waiting list, but you might not get the book for weeks, even if the library orders even more copies due to the number of holds on the book. Orders take time to be delivered. They also take time to process. Most people probably don't think about book processing, but library books have to have book covers and labels and security strips and listings in the catalog, and that all takes time. Oh, and money, in case you were wondering about public library budgets.
No library can actually afford to get enough copies each week for a book-a-week book club (or even a book-a-month club) for every person who wants to read the new book each week (or month--seriously, I've seen per month tried). To be brutally honest, these books would
1) possibly no longer be that popular to check out after it's week (or month) in the spotlight
2) take money from the overall collection that could have been spent on several different books for people with a wide variety of tastes instead of multiple copies of the same book
3) take up shelf space that could have been used for several different books instead of multiple copies of the same book. Part of the price of a book for a library is the price of its shelf space in terms of building upkeep. Unlike Unseen University's library, most local libraries do not have infinite shelving.
OK, so the library is not going to work. Well, Jack, you are S.O.L., and so is everyone else who has to limit their book budget. I know. Sucks to be us.
But wait. There are like a metric ass-ton of free books on the web. Not kidding. You could be reading those books and sharing them with your friends. The web has an answer. Free books that everyone can check out at once. A virtual lending library. Rock. A great source for a book-a-week club that is not going to eat your book budget (or the food budget that you would gladly parlay into a book budget), or for that matter the ever-dwindling budget of your local library.
Oh, and hey, apparently there are some new/up-and-coming authors out there who have free books available on the web. Authors who need an audience. They would, I am sure, love to see their books discussed on-line. This could be a great venue for up-and-coming authors. Did you hear me, up-and-coming authors? Get your free-for-download book discussed on Twitter this week. Be what the buzz is about.
Yeah, so that's my idea. Thanks again to @Wossy. This is my open-source version of your idea. Speaking of open-source--book reader software is out there if you need it.
I'm thinking it might take a bit to get things rolling, so, I'm going to start on a bi-weekly, and see where this goes. First book for review is a short story collection by Derek J Goodman @ derekjgoodman available here: http://bit.ly/IJFhx
Oh. I"m @howlingmadjack on Twitter. See you there.