Movies. Books. Music. Back in high school, my friends and I would endlessly quiz ourselves on the top three things we could not live without, and while the order of preference may vary, my answers have remained consistent to this day: it’s got to be books and movies. And music.
I’m a very omnivorous reader. Horror, the classics, fantasy, history, biographies, comic books — I’ll read most anything except self-help books. But my fetish lies with retro science fiction, preferably the ones churned out before man landed on the moon (Ray Bradbury had conditioned me into thinking we owned subdivisions and farmlands in Mars, so something as mundane as a moon landing was to me, anti-climactic). But retro science fiction books can be quite pricey, and are hardly ever available anymore.
Then I came across Bookmooch, a worldwide book sharing community, in August 2008. Since then, I have received 155 books of my choosing from all over the world. All for free.
Naturally, stories by science fiction authors top my list. Japan, the United States and Canada-based Bookmooch members have proven reliable sources for books and anthologies featuring Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke and Robert A. Heinlein. And I credit my fellow Philippine members for the mostly modern classics they have sent my way (books by Mary Shelley, Emily Bronte, Edith Wharton, Henry James, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Edgar Allan Poe). Greece for my books by Han Suyin, Agatha Christie and Philippa Gregory, the United Kingdom for my P.D. James, Graham Greene, Gary Larson and Haruki Murakami titles, and France and Finland for these tiny books by Franscoise Sagan. Finland members have also provided me with a good number of Naruto manga by Mashashi Kishimoto, all delivered in near-mint condition.
Thanks to Bookmooch, a total of 3,500,000 books have changed hands since August 2006. At present, it has some 70,000 active members in 90 participating countries. The United States tops the list with 11,372 members. In our region, Japan has 114 members, while China has 58. Singapore has 176 members. And with 181 members, I’m proud to note that the Philippines bears the distinction of being the most ravenous moocher in Asia!
Bookmooch is the brainchild of John Buckman who, like most avid readers, owned too many books and not enough bookshelves. What to do with the books he would never care to read again? Over a decade ago, John came across Maneki Neko, a short science fiction story by Bruce Sterling; John credits this as having given him the idea to start Bookmooch. The story tells of a watch-like gadget that suggests small gifts that users can do for others in the course of a day, at very minimal cost to themselves. While no one person is keeping track of these random favors, everyone benefits from the system. This is John’s philosophical foundation for Bookmooch. Giving away books you no longer want may seem a small favor, but it’s wonderful to receive the books you do want. Indeed.
Bookmooch.com relies on an assumption of positivity and trust. Like eBay, it is dependent on a feedback scheme, and a good track record speaks volumes. There’s also a palpable sense of community fueled by this collective craving for books. It operates on three simple steps: Give books away. Get books you want. Earn points along the way.
Here’s how it works. Open an account on Bookmooch.com. Signing up is a breeze–all it requires is your name, password, plus your email and mailing addresses. You then start working on your initial inventory by taking a discerning look at the books you currently own. Add the titles you are willing to give away, bearing in mind that you’ll be earning one-tenth of a point for each title you add, so at the onset, you will need approximately 10 books to earn one point.
Once you’re armed with the necessary points, start mooching books from fellow Bookmooch members! Books mooched from within your country will cost you just one point per book, while books mooched outside of your country will set you back three points each. Note that once a book owner has accepted your mooches, he or she is then obliged to send the titles to your mailing address. Should your preferred titles be unavailable, simply add these to a wishlist, and Bookmooch will inform you once a copy is available for mooching.
Likewise, as a Bookmooch member, you, too, will be required to mail mooched books, once you’ve accepted the requests, to their respective moochers, earning yourself one point per book if this is mooched by someone within your country, and three points for each book mooched from abroad. The points summary is made clearer below:
Action Points
Add a book to inventory +1/10th
Give away book (within your country) +1
Mooch a book (within your country) -1
Give away book (to another country) +3
Mooch a book (from another country) -3
Bookmooch is well aware that not all members are willing to mail books abroad, so the site allows your profile setting to reflect your willingness and capacity to send books. You can set this to three different conditions: ‘worldwide’ (you are willing to send books anywhere in the world), ‘my country’ (you will only send books within your country) and ‘ask me’ (also termed ‘ask if not to my country,’ it basically translates to: ask nicely, and we’ll see).
As of this writing, I have sent out a total of 115 books and received 155. My balance reflects 9.8 points and my positive feedback score is 110.
Then there’s the Quezon City Public Library in Pasong Tamo, which has received 2,541 books while maintaining a zero inventory (they rely on donated points from charitable members).
We, along with countless others, have significantly benefited since John Buckman stumbled onto “Maneki Neko’s” philosophy of random favors.
Which just goes to show how a little science fiction can go a long way.
