By: Angie Haddock
January is a time for making resolutions, and often those involve cleaning and organizing our spaces. If you’re a reader, your resolutions may have also involved setting a reading goal for 2021. Book swapping may just be a fun way to help you with both of those goals!
Late in 2020, I was introduced to a site called Bookpo.st. The man who started the site, Julian Baker, had the idea many years ago. Staying at home during quarantine finally gave him the time to sit down and work on the idea of a book-swap website. Being at home more meant that some people were also reading more, so it was the perfect time to bring the idea to life.
The site launched in June, and already has a few hundred members. Most of the active members are English-speaking right now – in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. Members list books they want to swap, and can peruse books posted by other members. You can look based on your tastes, or just look at books in your country (for cheaper shipping!).
The site is free to use, and the shipping costs of sending someone a book is the only cost you would incur from making a swap.
Baker says of the site:
“We connect people who share a taste for particular books, authors and genres. We want people to be able to take a gamble when picking a book, because they trust and understand the other person’s taste. We want to link people and expand their reading worlds.
I know of two friendships now that have started because of us, actual meet for coffee type friendships, not just online. So gratifying!”
I did one swap before the holidays, and the cost of sending a (pretty thick) book via US media mail was $3.30. So, if you do find a book you want, it could be a pretty cheap way to get your hands on it!
Right now the site is available on desktop or mobile, but an app is in the works. You can also see the newest books added via the site’s instagram account.
Reading Our Shelves 