Avid Reading

I registered the domain AvidReading.com several years back. I had developed a software package that would help students get the most out of the time they spent studying. The business plan was to fund the product through selling books online. All of my tests showed that potential revenues would be substantially less than the cost of writing, testing, documenting and supporting the program.

As I still have the domain name. I thought I would use it to highlight reading resources and educational products, and an occasional book.

Overstock.com is the best place to find new books online. The store has an extremely effiencient purchasing, warehousing and shipping facility that allows them to send discounted books at a low fixed rate price and at a price substantially less than the retail price. The store concentrates on selling closeout merchandise; You can find great discounts by browsing through the books.

Amazon.com is my favorite spot for used books. Amazon has such a massive audience that you can feel comfortable that the price of used books in their listings is the real cost of used books. When I have money, I tend to spend it on books. I've often spent $2k a year or more on books. The used book section of Amazon.com has dramatically reduced the cost of my addiction. In one year I had a financial crisis and was able to sell several thousand dollars of books.

BookSwim is an online subscription based library. They have a catalog of hundreds of thousands of books. You pay a subscription fee and can send your books through the mail to and from the library. It is a great gift for young readers as the subscription motivates them to learn to read quickly; so they can get the book back in the mail. It is also a God send for people in rural areas or who do not have immediate access to a public library.