Romantic Times Bookclub

September 2002 issue - page 23

RT BOOKclub's Web Watch

WWW.BOOKSFREE.COM -- This web and mail-order lending library is like manna from heaven for booklovers--especially romance and mystery readers. With an inventory of more than 21,000 mass-market paperbacks, this virtual library stocks the backlists of hundreds of authors. Unfortunately, booksfree.com isn't totally free; the site has three membership plans with low monthly fees of $6 to $13 (or two annual fee plans of $70 or $100). Members can check out as many books as they like, but can only have up to six out at a time. You can keep the books for as long as you want, and there's no shipping or mailing fees, as each package comes with a postage-paid envelope to ship the books back to the company. Recently, the site added a "reading list" feature, so you can cache future selections to be sent as soon as they receive your returns. The customer service and selection are top-notch, and the books are always in great condition. For the same price of two paperbacks, you can read three or more times as many books in a month. It may not be free, but it's a tough deal to beat.