Unworkable Idea # 5,642: BookSwim Plans E-book Lending Site

Only four problems. No publisher cooperation, highly restrictive Kindle and Nook lending rules, disabling of lending on the most popular titles, and no viable means for monetization. Aside from those glitches, this is a sure-fire winner. PW: "With major publishers so far reticent to sanction a rental market for e-books, BookSwim.com, the New Jersey-based print-book rental company billed as 'the Netflix of books,' told PW it plans to launch a new site called eBookToss.com, a virtual 'e-book swap' that will facilitate the direct lending of e-books between consumers using the lending features enabled by platforms like the Kindle, and the Nook. 'We've been talking to publishers about the concept of e-book rentals, but we don't really know how possible that is,' BookSwim CEO George Burke told PW. 'But, based on the announcement from Amazon in December [about enabling loans], we think we’ve found a model.' Burke said the site could go live as early as next week."