Swopping books whilst sailing

[Arigatou]

I have found that getting english books in Europe (any type of book) is very hard. If you can find a shop that sells them they are usually quite expensive. If you are in a place for a while its easy to order from Amazon etc but then the postage always bumps up the price. I have been trying to think of a way we could swop books along the way with other boats who may be in a similar position. I'm not sure how it would work,maybe someone has some suggestions. Perhaps all those avid readers who are interested,could reply with their intended route and boat name and match it up with others on a similar route. That way they could keep in touch and trade with each other at the various places they stop (assuming they are at the same place at the same time). If anyone can think of any other ways of doing it, please let me know. In UK I see people take their books into the marina but I havent seen it in France or Spain and of course the books are less likely to be in English anyway. Ta

ps. We are in La Coruna headed for Gibraltor.

 

[Gerry]

I am a right hussy where books are concerned and have no qualms about going up to any English speaking boats that I see and asking whether they have any books to swop! Most folks take it pretty well.

However with the rise of the Kindle it's getting harder and harder to find books anywhere. It's a shame as I enjoy picking up something in a bookswop that I wouldn't normally read and finding another new world opened. The problem with the kindle is you only order within your own boundary and all those happy accidental discoveries are becoming a thing of the past - shame.

Still I have had to succumb to one and it is a great asset when cruising, and no postage charges from Amazon!

 

[NornaBiron]

In the Med English language books are generally easy to come by. Most chandlers and marinas have a shelf or two of books available for swapping. I, also, have no problem with asking other English boats if they have any books to swap - it usually leads to drinks being swapped too!

With regard to Amazon, if you order more than £25 worth you can often get 'free super saver delivery'. I have had many deliveries from Amazon this way with no difficulty at all.

 

[little_roundtop]

In the Med English language books are generally easy to come by. Most chandlers and marinas have a shelf or two of books available for swapping. I, also, have no problem with asking other English boats if they have any books to swap - it usually leads to drinks being swapped too!

+1 for book swap shelves in marinas. In Greece (esp in the Ionian) many tavernas will maintain book swap shelves as well.

 

[Arigatou]

We have 4 avid readers on board. Would that mean a kindle per person? Dont know much about them and to be honest havent really looked into them but I think I should. I just keep forgetting about them. How much do you pay to download a book onto a kindle? I also agree that having a book is nice too (the drink swapping even better). And how long does the Amazon super delivery thing take? Thats also not a bad option and I'll look into that. We found a shop in La Coruna called Fnac that sells English books and so far we have spent nearly 70 euros on 6 books. Nearly all the books are finished so will be looking again really soon (Swopping books is still far cheaper and sociable though!)

 

[NornaBiron]

And how long does the Amazon super delivery thing take? Thats also not a bad option and I'll look into that.

In my experience super saver delivery can take between one and two weeks to Greece but is often much shorter. We have deliveries sent to Poste Restante here in Greece (the service is excellent), but if you have a private or marina address that may work better.

 

[rotrax]

I have found that getting english books in Europe (any type of book) is very hard. If you can find a shop that sells them they are usually quite expensive. If you are in a place for a while its easy to order from Amazon etc but then the postage always bumps up the price. I have been trying to think of a way we could swop books along the way with other boats who may be in a similar position. I'm not sure how it would work,maybe someone has some suggestions. Perhaps all those avid readers who are interested,could reply with their intended route and boat name and match it up with others on a similar route. That way they could keep in touch and trade with each other at the various places they stop (assuming they are at the same place at the same time). If anyone can think of any other ways of doing it, please let me know. In UK I see people take their books into the marina but I havent seen it in France or Spain and of course the books are less likely to be in English anyway. Ta

ps. We are in La Coruna headed for Gibraltor.

I think you should consider the option of a Kindle. Should solve all your problems for the cost of ten books posted to europe. Not sure myself-I like REAL books!

 

[vyv_cox]

I currently have about 40 paperbacks aboard, all swapped with other boats after buying originally at home from charity shops. As others say, we approach any new arrival to ask whether they have any swaps but having been in Greece for a few years now all we currently hold have come from boatyards, marinas, tavernas, etc.

We also have a Kindle for the first time this year. I have been reading all the good free books I can obtain, e.g. Barbara Hart (was free, now about £1 I think, highly recommended) Two years before the mast, various Jack London, etc. Makes a pleasant change from detectives and thrillers.

 

[rickym]

We have books on board and will swap and often swap at clubs, marina's etc. Still in the UK not heading south for another month, then N Spain to the Canaries via Portugal. We will talk to anyone! Also swap books and DVD's!

Rick
S.Y Galene

 

[RupertW]

I'm a kindle convert and have read 123 books on it since last year (never kept a count before).

One thing I miss is being able to say, "you'd really like that, gove it a read", and as I also tend to give a few dozen books to charity shops each year that has stopped too.

 

[rickym]

We also have a kindle too but swapping a book with someone who enthuses about the volume they are giving you is always a pleasant experience

 

[duncan99210]

I have no idea how legal they are but if you go on ebay there are data dvds available for about £1.99 with 20,000+ ebooks on them. Not all worth reading of course but there will be something for everyone available. As for bookswaps, just about all of the marinas have them from Coruna onwards..... Also, there are second hand book shops in some places with large english expat communities - Hibernian in Barcelona for example.

Having taken ages to get hold of a Kindle, I would now be most upset if it suddenly went missing. It's also great for having a newpaper every day all for £9.99 a month.

 

[Ariadne]

We've found that a lot of people have moved to Kindle & e-books. So there is good trade in swapping electronic books along with AVI films at the moment.

Not all Kindle books ar elocked either, I was given 3000 authers worth of books the other day all unlocked Kindle. You can also find a whole load of free e-pub books if look around.

Calibre is really good Xplatform e-book reader available for PC, MAC, Android, etc. reads and converts all formats and totally compatable with Kindle as well. All our laptops have Calibre and we have 2 Kindles as well!

We off-loaded about 100Kg of books in Las Palmas, when we swapped over, great having the space back.

 

[phanakapan]

I have a Sony e-reader on board, I use it mostly for reading the free classic books I get off sites like the Gutenberg Project. I wish I had waited and got a Kindle, but knowing the huge amount I read I would probably have succumbed to temptation to buy too many ebooks off amazon online.
I have never had a problem in 'scoring' books - off other boats, marinas, yacht clubs , laundries, chandleries, bars, there is nearly always a book swap location somewhere; also if you are in a real tourist area, walking into big hotels and checking out the holiday reading people have left behind is a possibility.

I have been in places where there have been 'coffee morning and book swap' parties, usually announced on a VHF Cruisers Net.

Get used to asking everywhere you go- where's the nearest supermarket/gas bottle refill/ free wifi/phone shop/laundry/bookswap place. And as others have said- stock up with charity shop books so you have plenty to trade!

Oh and hello Ariadne, how are you all?

 

[rivonia]

We arrived in Karpaz Gate Marina-Cyprus and off loaded 17 fairly new books. Soon most other yatchies did the same and so a book swap was formed.

Like others we will go to other boats and see if they have books/dvd to swap.

peter

 

[jeanne]

If any of you get as far as the Guadiana, and up to Sanlucar, we have a HUGE free bookswap in our house, (easy to find) and there is another at the library at Alcoutim ( in my opinion not as varied or as big as ours....) and we do DVDs as well. Although I have a Kindle now, and have had some very good free books for it, I still prefer the feel of a book in my hands. Useful for travelling though as it´s lighter in the luggage. I´m probably considered a dinosaur now!

 

[capnsensible]

Lots of south spain marinas have a book swap. We have also found them all over the place in other countries.

Often easy to book swap with neighbours.

If you go to Marina Bay in Gib you will find a swap up the office and at the newsagents on the dock.

Oh, and the Quarterdeck Bar nearby.

 

[paulingreece]

If anybody is in or around the Ermioni Porto Heli Kilada area i have about 300 odd books which i swap, pm me if you are in the area and want to swap.

 

[wazza]

I just can't see myself with a kindle, I'm with jeanne, I want the feel of a book in my hand..

 

[GrahamM376]

I just can't see myself with a kindle, I'm with jeanne, I want the feel of a book in my hand..

Still prefer the feel of a book and it doesn't matter if it gets wet or dropped. We visit Jeanne's a couple of times a year, will be there again in a few weeks.