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BOOK SWAP SHOP HITS INTERNET
CASH-strapped bookworms have been surfing the net for a good read using an free book swap shop created by a young Manx entrepreneur.
Isle of Man-educated businessman Andrew Bathgate, 27, is the co-founder of www.readitswapit.co.uk, a website which allows thousands of avid readers to swap their books over the internet, free of charge.
The wbsite has hit headlines in the UK and sparked a craze for book swapping.
In just five months, nearly 45,000 books have been swapped on the site, saving members around 350,000 in books. More than 40,000 books are up for grabs right now.
'I got a job in London and used to commute a lot on the tube, so I would read to try to escape the reality that I was squashed next to somebody's armpit,' said Andrew, a graduate of QEII High School in Peel, who grew up near Cronk-y-Voddy.
'I was spending a lot on books and running out of space to store them, so I came up with the idea for ReadItSwapIt. It means each book you purchase has an unlimited life cycle – every book you finish you can immediately swap for another book,' he explains.
Once readers start swapping, it seems they simply can't stop.
At least, this was the case with local Andreas resident, the retired Head of English at Ramsey Grammar School Pat Jones, who began swapping online in January.
She is now one of the most avid book swappers in Britain and has exchanged more than 80 books using www.readitswapit.co.uk.
'I like the fact that good books are being read by more than one person - the books are not just sitting on the shelves,' she says.
'I can take risks selecting books without too much expense and I am building a good store of reading material for the future. I am also finding out about authors and reading reviews of books I've never heard of,' she adds.
She logs on almost every day, scouring the website's virtual library shelves for the latest books and her favourite authors.
'Sometimes I feel a little guilty that I'm not buying all these books from my local bookshop, but then I wouldn't have bought 80 since Christmas anyway! In fact, because I have been introduced to authors through ReadItSwapIt I have gone looking for other works by them and bought those. My buying has acquired a little more direction,' Pat says.
Users pay for the cost of sending the books by second class post to other users (usually about 88p), but the site is totally free to use.
'It would have cost me upwards of 300 to have bought those books I have acquired so far. Some of them have been very recently published hardbacks, like 'Labyrinth' or the latest PD James. I can now indulge in the occasional jewellery item from Ebay or some more plants for my garden!' says Pat.
Andrew agrees: 'Swapping is a great way to save money. And it's not only good for wallet, it's good for the environment as well. Members are recycling around 9,000 books every month, saving more than 300 trees so far.'
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Weather for Isle of Man
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 7 C to 9 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 6 C to 9 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: South east
