Books: Discover, Read, Publish and Buy Literature Online
If the neighborhood bookstore never has what you want and the big chains are too overwhelming to navigate, try finding another source to get your literature fix. Let the Internet be your new books guru: buy, sell or trade new and used books, connect with other readers who share your interests, read reviews and find all kinds of literary news.
Expand All Guide SectionsBuying, Selling and Swapping Books Online
If you're in the market for buying, selling and swapping books online, this section can help you find what you need. The Internet is loaded with opportunities to purchase new books, used books, e-books or even rare books.
Insights for Buying, Selling and Swapping Books Online
- If you're selling books online, list your collection on at least two of the major reselling services. Just don't forget to delete duplicate listings after you've made a sale.
- If you're interested in book swapping, look on a few swapping sites for books that you're interested in before investing the time and effort in listing and mailing your own books out.
Top Sites for Buying, Selling and Swapping Books Online
For buying new books online ...
BookFinder.com
aggregates the listings of more than 100,000 online booksellers to make comparison shopping a snap. The site even gives you the option of seeing prices including or excluding shipping costs.
Amazon.com
is probably the best-known Internet book retailer. It offers a wide selection, as well as a popular "Search Inside!" feature that provides full-size images of book covers and brief excerpts.
Powell's Books
features interesting staff recommendations on its home page and within each of its subject categories, along with the more traditional critic and user reviews.
For buying and selling used books online ...
Half.com
is eBay's marketplace for new and used books, movies, music and video games. The site offers fixed shipping prices and combined shipment discounts if you purchase more than one book from the same seller.
Biblio.com
sells new and used books from more than 5,000 approved independent booksellers only, not from casual users cleaning out their collections.
For book swapping online ...
BookMooch
lets users trade books using a point system. Get free points for the books you list, earn points for the books you send and spend points for the books you order.
Bookins
allows you to trade books and DVDs with other members. Register with the site for free to learn more and start trading.
For eBooks online ...
ManyBooks.net
offers free downloadable books formatted for printing or use on iPods, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), or eBook readers (specialized gadgets for viewing electronic texts). Most of the texts offered are from the Project Gutenberg archives.
eBooks.com
is a valuable site if you're looking for a work that isn't in the public domain yet. If you don't need a physical copy of the book, the prices for some works are lower than even the discounted prices on Amazon.com.
For buying rare books online ...
Bauman Rare Books
is an antique book dealer based in New York and Philadelphia that offers an online catalog of more than 5,000 rare books, plus information on book collecting.
Rare Book Room
is the site to visit if you're not ready to shell out for your own rare book collection but want to see a few for yourself. Look for medium-resolution photos of about 400 rare books.
Online Book Clubs and Social Networks
The Internet is filled with online book clubs and social networks as well as opportunities for you to meet people from around the world who share your taste in books.
Insights for Online Book Clubs and Social Networks
- You'll also find forums for discussing books on the sites of bigger book sellers, such as Barnes & Noble.
- Social networking sites aren't just for readers. They're also a useful tool for new writers looking to share and promote their work.
Top Sites for Online Book Clubs and Social Networks
For social networking sites ...
Shelfari
offers users a personalized profile with a virtual bookshelf to display your collection. Find other users who like the same books, and get recommendations for new reading material based on your tastes.
LibraryThing
provides user profiles and virtual bookshelves, and boasts more than 13 million books currently listed. The site focuses on cataloging by merging Library of Congress and Dewey decimal systems with user tagging.
For online book clubs ...
Book-Clubs-Resource.com
is a directory of Internet book clubs including general book discussions, sites specializing in certain kinds of literature and book clubs that offer discounts for purchasing books.
Dear Reader
is a free service that e-mails sample chapters from books in the book clubs you choose. If you like the book and want to keep reading, you're encouraged to get the book from your public library.
Book News and Reviews
The breadth of literary reading material to be found online allows you to keep up with book news and reviews quickly and cheaply without leaving home.
Insights for Book News and Reviews
- If you're a member of a social networking site, other members may post sources of book news and reviews that are worth looking into.
- In all likelihood, your favorite magazine or newspaper has an Arts and Literature section.
Top Sites for Book News and Reviews
For online-only news ...
Bookslut
features author interviews, reviews and regular columns focused on specific genres, such as banned books, children's literature, comic books and magazines.
Arts & Letters Daily
aggregates links to the latest literary articles and essays around the Web, with a special section devoted to reviews of recently released books.
For online versions of print papers ...
The New York Times Sunday Book Review
provides free online access to the same articles you'll find in the print edition, plus a special book review podcast that provides a review in audio format.
The Washington Post
makes book reviews from its print edition available online. The site requires free registration to access book reviews.
Literary Review
is a British literary magazine that offers select articles from its most recent edition online for free. Digital magazine publisher Exact Editions offers a complete online subscription—much cheaper than a print subscription, especially for U.S. subscribers.
Literary Events
The Internet is a great resource for learning about literary events in your area. Whether you want to attend a reading, a Q&A or a book festival, the information you need is on the Web.
Insights for Literary Events
- Time Out is a cultural events guide that's available for several international cities. Search the listings to see what's going on each week.
- Local newspapers are also an excellent place to check for literary events. They often have online versions that enable you to do quick searches in your location for upcoming events.
Top Sites for Literary Events
Barnes and Noble
offers more than 100,000 events per year. Search for them online by location or by author name.
Borders
also lists its in-store events online. Use the store locator tool to find a store near you, along with a list of upcoming events.
The Library of Congress
Center for the Book lists upcoming book fairs and festivals all over the world, complete with contact information and links to the events' Web sites.
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