Book exchange/sale

[DawnHRD]

Since our shop shut, I've found myself in a bit of a quandary about books. I used to buy them from there & then return them to be resold. Now I have about half a dozen, that I've read & don't want. Ideally, I'd like to swap or part-exchange them, as the miserly part of me baulks at giving them to a book stall & paying 'full' price for more.

So, does anyone have any ideas where I can do this? Thanks.

[Bamboo Grove]

Billy´s Bar has quite a good selection and they swap books.

[dtaai-maai]

Pa****ya has half a dozen secondhand bookshops, Samui has a few, Bangkok - well...

and I wouldn't be surprised if there was one in Khon Kaen.

Why isn't there one in HH?

[STEVE G]

There used to be two but now there is only the occasional market store, I don’t know why that is, perhaps everybody is too busy playing golf to read.

[dtaai-maai]

The market stalls have a lot of tatty rubbish, mostly in Scandiwegian, and apparently priced by size...

[niggle]

Sorry to jump in on this topic Dawn but where on Soi 102 is your dog sanctuary ?
Would like to volunteer some time

[DawnHRD]

It's not on Soi 102. Nowhere near there, I'm afraid. The main center (where most dogs are & where volunteers go) is in the Tessadban dog shelter (often called "The King's Dog Shelter" by the locals, although that's not strictly correct) near the Elephant Village (up Pala U rd a little way - near where Rockestra used to be). We actually have a small compound within their larger one. Neither their's nor ours are signposted, so can be missed if you're not sure where you're going. Ours is through the main gates & on the left past the offices. If you look closely, you'll see the difference in dogs and in the shelters etc where they're kept.
If you think you'd like to take a look, but you're not sure where it is, pm me & I can arrange to meet you in town & take you up.

[STEVE G]

The market stalls have a lot of tatty rubbish, mostly in Scandiwegian, and apparently priced by size...

Yes, there's one in the Grand Hotel market and one in the night market in the small soi behind the City Beach Hotel some nights, but the quality is not good; you can be lucky sometimes though.

[Chas]

Dawn, this is a topic I posted on in another thread ( the one about what people are reading. . .and what they recommend.) I go through so many in a few weeks that the cost. . if I bought them new. . would blow my budget out of the water. We have a small book exchange out at Stamford, but I have already read everything there by now. .and I have a bag of my own books packed and ready to exchange somewhere. One store used to buy used books for resale ( they bought them very cheap though) but it has closed. They even had them plastiwrapped and arranged by author. The hotels are one source but 90% of the books are in Swedish as are the ones they have for sale in the two places mentioned on this thread. Having just joined the Hilton gym, I checked out their poolside shelf. Three books in English. Two I had already read and only one VERY good one which I borrowed and returned.

[lomuamart]

I've always been really particular about books and music - in as much as once I've bought something, I really don't like letting go of it, even if it's only on loan.
I used to have a pretty good collection back in the UK and the vast majority of it is still in the "landlord's cupboard" under the stairs. I've toyed with the idea of bringing them over, but the cost will probably be prohibitive.
Dawn,
Most of the books I have were bought from the dog centre shop over the years.
Chas,
I agree that to buy new books would also break my bank as well. If I'm not "Chang'd up", I can get through two a week.
I don't know what the answer is. One lady seemed to have a good idea last year, as a lending library. I think the cost was 500 B membership for a year (maybe a month actually) and the business was run like that. We went back to the UK as she started it and she was back home when we returned.
Another example, although I appreciate that the place was full of travellers, was Pai in Mae Hong Song District. I'd never been into a larger second hand book shop in Thailand before. Books in good condition cost very little, especially if you were swapping. The shelves were packed. If I'd had the money and the inclination, I'd have brought loads back here.
Hua Hin just dosn't seem to be the kind of place where you're likely to come across good second hand reading material.

[DawnHRD]

OK - idea

Would anyone be interested in a swap thread on here? No money involved. You just list the books you want to get rid of and the genre/authors/titles you're interested in. Then, anyone interested can pm you & you both swap. Anyone think that'd work?

[dtaai-maai]

Sounds good to me, Dawn - why not give it a try? If it doesn't catch on, no harm done. I have about 80 paperbacks in various categories that I'd be happy to swap.

[lomuamart]

I'd be interested in that as well, as long as my books were returned.
Any I borrow off anyone else would be also.
That's what I was trying to say earlier. I'm really possessive of my books. A lot of them mean something to me and I don't want them to go forever.
I'd certainly be happy to lend books to someone to read, as as long as I knew I was going to get them back - and vice versa.
Most of them are "thrillers" from Dawn's place - and they're good. However, some are pretty good, IMHO. Those are the ones I love. In 3 years, I'll want to read them again. Simple as that.
I'm quite willing to put a list up - it won't be that long - and happily join in a book club along those lines.
Share and share alike. Which was maybe what you were trying earlier, Chas? I should have replied to your thread.
I will in a moment.

[crazy88]

Very good idea Dawn and an excellent point by Lomuamart .

How many of us have lent out books,records,cd's or dvd's in the past and had them returned scratched,coffee stained,corners torn or simply not at all ? (most i would imagine ).

That said I would certainly participate and continue to swap with those people who took care as would a number of people I have asked about the subject .

[PeteC]

If you guys do this I think you need an excel spreadsheet on here, maintained by each who offers books for trade and return. Listing titles, date out, to whom, date of return etc. Everyone manages his own lot.

I don't know if the forum has that capability, and it should limit "change" access by password to only those who are managing their books. Others would be view only. Pete