BEVS

I'm a complete bookworm and bemoan the high cost of books here. There is something about owning a good book. I feel positively wealthy when I have a new acquisition, especially if it is a hardback. Mind you , I can feel the same if we buy a half tidy, quality bottle of wine.

Yis ! I know you can borrow books from the library and all that stuff & I do that . I find the choice limiting. Waiting for new titles to become available is tedious and anyway, I enjoy owning books. I treasure them.

One of the silliest things I did before we came away was to sell many of my books. Looking back, I don't know what on earth possessed me. I suppose a sort of 'new start' fever. Madness ! I look at the feeble piles of books on the lounge floor and bewail my loss. If I invest in a large and beautiful bookcase, then I will want to fill it with those precious delights.

Books are expensive here & again, the choice can be limiting. No way around that one. Last time we were in the UK, I bought a good half dozen books to bring back with me.My dyslexic husband indulged me as Ibrowsed half a day in Waterstones & then wanted a return visit . I'm lucky in that a few of my UK friends will send out books to me via snail mail.

Anyway, a good mate has just put me onto THE BOOK DEPOSITORY. Looks like it might be a goer as some of the prices seem reasonable and they ship to NZ . Thought I'd share.

karonious

I did exactly the same - I was thinking it would cost less on shipping. I have one bookcase and even between us, Melissa and I hardly have enough books left to fill it. If I could do it all again, I would definitely take my books and leave something else.......

Maz

Is BookCrossing done at all in NZ? It's quite popular in certain circles in the US.

Maz

Here you go. There are a number of books that have been released into the wild (that's how they put it ) and haven't been discovered yet...

Very useful link, please click me!

Batty

Bevs, I'm going to have a 'book swap' party in the New Year - help people get rid of all their Christmas reads I know it's too far for you to pop in but it might be an idea if you could get together with other like-minded people. I haven't quite figured out the logistics yet - I'm thinking something like, bring 3 books and take 3 away. I've got 4 bookcases and could do with a few more - I buy in bulk off Trade Me - it's really good value - and all my friends are bookworms too so we're always swapping. Doubleday had a Christmas sale on recently and had loads of books for $4.99 each

Am Loolah

Now, I like this idea - I read about it, in the Sunday Herald a while ago I think. There's something quite whimsical about tracking a book across the world through strangers sharing in it?! We could set up an Ex-Pats book swap. List 3 titles you are prepared to part with and send them on to someone on here who has 3 you would like and then list those three or three different ones again when you are done? Maybe signing the inside cover before you pass it on? You pay for the P&P when you post it, so no money has to be collected? Or something along those lines?

Batty

I've thought of something like that before but it would depend on the goodwill of all the participants and I sort of stumbled there I think it would be a great idea

Am Loolah

Ahhh ... you reap what you sow would have to be the motto ... we could always name and shame anyone who didn't play nicely?!

Might need a bit of fine tuning but the idea is there in principal - what did you have in mind?

JaneAS

Hi Bevs here.

I've only ever bought from The Book Depository through Amazon (2nd hand titles) but I've used them loads of time in the UK and they are really quick to despatch.

I started packing up my beloved books first, and moving them into storage - ready for shipping - I have packed 13 boxes so far and will have a couple more to add yet

I'm also stocking up on some of the more obscure books that I want before we move - Hubby was horrified yesterday to see some packages from Amazon arriving in the post... only a few more to go...

Jane

nick99

If you have not done so already maybe give Abebooks a try? Its a portal where booksellers around the world (13,500 they reckon) list their inventory. You can get new and used and I have found it often a better deal than Amazon. Its also a good source of hard to find stuff. I'm a happy customer so pleased to recommend. They have a OZ/NZ site;

http://www.abebooks.com/docs/ANZ/

littleal

I can also recommend Abebooks. It's weird not to have Amazon.co.nz when they seem to have got everywhere else.

Otherwise book-crossing or swapping seems excellent. I'm not sure if the book-chain letter will catch on.

Happy reading
Alison

Batty

I've got a load on today but I'll jot down a few notes over the weekend and PM you - I've always thought that it needed more than one person to oversee it so this could be the answer

Pollyana

I've used Abebooks quite a bit, thoroughly recommend them. Like you guys in NZ,We don't have an Aussie Amazon, most people still use Amazon.co.uk - and quite a few Aussies use them too. Cheaper, quicker amd a wider range than anywhere in Australia

uk+kiwi

Really good. Thanks for the tip. Have placed an order for those items cheaper than Amazon that are on my Xmas shopping list. Some are much better value, others aren't (when factoring in shipping costs too).

It struck me fairly quickly that the site content and price comparison with amazon had 'amazon book only business' written all over it. A quick look in the 'about us' section regarding the company founders supported this theory in my view. Whether it is actually linked to Amazon as a subsidiary or not isn't apparent, but interesting all the same. The Bookpeople is another great UK based site. Shipping may be an issue to NZ though.

wilekit

I'm so glad I've seen this thread! I'm a bit of a bibliophile, and I have a lifetimes collection of books, probably around 10-15 boxes all told ( I was dead ruthless recently and got rid of some). They include all my childrens books, which I'm saving for my kids now (and still reading myself now and again ), horror, classics, sci fi, modern fiction...my partner constantly moans about my books-we moved last year and my books made up about a 3rd of our boxes . we've kind of agreed that I'll get rid of most of them before we go in march - would people say it'd be a good idea to hang onto them and ship them out with us? I had no idea books were more expensive in NZ?