Is there a "lovefilm" site for books?

[ShinyMoonInAPurpleSky]

My local library is rubbish and you have to pay to order a book they don't have and even then you can only do that if one of the surrounding libraries actually has the book I want to read, which they often don't.

So does anyone know if there is a sort of online library book rental place like Lovefilm is for dvds?

Not to my knowledge. There is Audio Book Rental but that's not what you are looking for, is it - you want paperback books?

Yes it is paper backs I'm looking for :(

There soooo should be a site that offers this! [points-out-gap-in-the-market-to-anyone-who-could-do-anything-about-it]

www.readitswapit.co.uk

I don't think it's exactly what you are looking for but it's a brilliant site.

what a brilliant idea
lovebooks.com
please somebody do it

Looks like others have thought about it and I found a reference to Google considering it in 2005. In the US there is BookSwim.com so in the US it's possible.

There must be reasons for why it isn't done by the likes of Amazon. I suspect it's due to licencing and postage costs. Books weigh more then DVDs.

BooksFree.com does it in the us... but monthly price plan starts at $14.49 a month (for up to 2 books out at home). I take a while to read a book, so that seems expensive to me if in that period I might only read 1 possibly 2 books.

Some interesting discussion about lending libraries in the comments section of this guardian.co.uk article (which as about HarperCollins wanting to limit ebooks to max of 26 loans)

Oooh some very interesting links there nannynick, thanks!

Not sure if you're still looking at this thread, but I use GreenMetropolis.com. It's brilliant, I always check it first before I order books new from elsewhere. I have only sold about four of my own books but haven't listed very many for sale.