In the US, (and I am not sure where else), if you buy a book from Amazon there is every reason to believe that you can lend it to a deserving friend., what other kind of friend would you lend your books too?
Unfortunately this is not the case in the UK and possible South Africa, I have a friend there.
If you bought a book from Amazon, all you do is go to the Amazon book page and click the link on the top of the page to lend the book, Your friend will then have two weeks to read it. Sounds simple, don’t it (bad grammar deliberate). If you want more details on how to do this Johanna Garth has a great blog post explaining how to lend them to your friends at: http://www.johannagarth.com/2012/01/shared-good-book-lately.html
Well I can’t do that and I feel left out. I’m the girl sulking in the corner of the party, nursing a gin and tonic looking at the floor, whilst everyone is partying like its 1999 (erm 2012) in the center.
On Facebook, there is a group called SOS, Share our Stories. Its all promoted by Fantasy Island Book Publishing (FIBP) to promote the lending program. After all authors just want their books to be read. Authors are freely lending their copies of other author#s books within the program, unless they are currently reading them.
I think it is about time that Amazon opened up the Kindle Lending Library to the rest of the world or at least the UK! We like to read too and there is a great vampire novel I KNOW my friend will love.
Here’s hoping 2012 will be the year of the Kindle Library.
C’mon Amazon don’t leave us inthe corner…
Aw! I would love to borrow that vampire book! Soon hopefully!
Good post, Ceri. And good points. Yesterday, I had a German friend on facebook post a comment under a link I had shared. I was promoting free books on Amazon. I try to do it when FIBP has a one-day giveaway promotion. She commented that she couldn’t get it. 🙁 The landscape is changing so quickly for writers, readers and publishers right now…it is hard to imagine where we will all be when the dust settles. 🙂
Well said, little one! Now let me top off that gin and tonic for you!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_ksupportfaq_lending?nodeId=200549320
Looking at this link, it says not all books are lendable. But I certainly wouldn’t mind swapping random books with you (though I’m rather behind on my reading as it is).