Signed up, have many books to list to be mooched, but can't find a single book I want

I've spent about 3 hours trying to find ANY book that's on my wishlist, or any book by a favorite author, or just browse topics and get any kind of hit.

Two books on my wishlist are non-USA by people who will only ship in their country. The topics to browse seem too general and after going through about 20 pages I get bummed out. I can't seem to get a handle on how to find books I want that somebody would actually want to send to me.

If I could find a single book I wanted, I'd list books and start the process. So far all I can see happening is me putting books on and being the mooch-ee without getting a chance to be the mooch-er.

How does one figure out where to find the good books?

I didn't find anything for a long time after I started. What I would suggest is to list your books and send them out so when you do find something you want you'll have the points for them.

For months there was never anything popping up on my wishlist. Then I bulked it up to about 150 items and I usually see things daily on there.

If you have very specific tastes it might be a little harder to find things. I started with a wishlist of mostly graphic design books and never say anything. I started adding fiction and other books I was interested in and that's done the trick.

You can also look at the recommend feature by going to Browse: and then recommendations. I've seen some interesting things that way as well.

I do have to agree with mint910, you may not always see stuff you want right away, especially if they are very popular (or the opposite), but it is possible.

Also, if you find a book you really want in another country and the owner doesn't ship outside of their country, you can ask an angel to ship it to you. Check out the wiki page on angels here:
wiki.bookmooch.com / index.php?title= BookMooch_Angel_Network
It explains the process pretty well.

What kind of books are you looking for? Because you can ask here on the forums and someone might be able to help you find some of them.

It may help if you were to put some books on your inventory in order to gain some points so that when one of your wishlist books becomes available you will be able to mooch it before someone else does. I live in UK but as you have nothing wishlisted yet I do not know which books you are wanting.

I am usually willing to ship abroad as long as moocher asks if its OK first.

It's not an instant thing... it's not like you can sign up and find and get tons of books that you really want instantly. First off, you have to send out books too, so putting those books in your inventory is the first step.

Any books that you want, put in your wishlist. Look for related editions on Amazon and put those in your wishlist too, if you don't care about edition (the "see related editions" on BookMooch is unreliable). And wait. Send a few books out, establish a reputation, maybe even make some friends.... Sooner or later you WILL see books you want become available.

Browsing by subject doesn't do much good... the subjects are automatic, from Amazon, and usually are not very accurate. Take a look at fellow LTers catalogues, see if you see anything you want. Go to the BM forums and look at everyone who is offering deals.

It takes some time maybe, but it's definitely worth it.

I've found that discussions on LibraryThing are the best way to find books I want :) BookMooch tends not to have the newest stuff, and the books mentioned here are often older ones that are available on BM.

I've also had some success at completing series that I only read part of when I was young.

Thanks, guys! Your answers and suggestions are encouraging.

My tastes are eclectic. I've read most of the most 'popular' books or don't want to read them. Here's just a teeny sample of what I was looking for - I didn't think it unreasonable, but so far zilch. Maybe it is unreasonable and I have to change my expectations (?)

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
Chasing Shakespeares: A Novel by Sarah Smith
And The Band Played On by Randy Shilts
Coming out of the Ice by Victor Herman
Duma Key by Stephen King the only King I've ever wanted to read
Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips
Independent People by Halldor Laxness
Everything That Rises by Lawrence Weschler
Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon
etc.

All of your suggestions are great and I'll just gird my loins (so to speak) and take the plunge.

Thanks again!

Note: I just added 10 books. I've already gotten one mooch request that I accepted.

Is there a way to find out the person's real name or if they just have a nickname send it like that?

All I can see is the nickname and an address.

Also

I find the best way to find books is to put the authors name in Search.

I seem to get the best returns that way

karenmarie, I would have mooched White Teeth from you but you only send within your own country. Ah! Well!
Never mind!

#7

I own 2 or 3 of the books on your list and will list them on BM once they are read. My user name (mcna217) is the same in both places. If you send me a friend request (stating you are from LT) I can reserve those for you once they are read.

Randy Shilts was a local writer and I always see his books in local thrift shops. I'll keep my eyes open for And the Band Played On.

Hey Beth mcna217 - just put in a friends request on BookMooch. Thank you so much.

Karen

See, Karenmarie, two of your wishlisted books are available.

Whenever I hear or read about an interesting book, I list it in my wishlist. The simple act of entering the author and title keeps the book in my mind and I now often run into wishlisted titles elsewhere. Amazon and Librarything are both good at generating new titles to list -- just follow the recommendations and read reviews and you'll end up with a bloated wishlist and no points to speak of.

I found that looking at the "Recommended List " helped me as I found books that were not on my wish list , but I was interested in them-and I did mooch some.

Wow! I've had 4 requests for books and I see that 2 of my wishlisted books are available.
I've already accepted 2 mooches and have to go out at lunch and buy mailers! How exciting.

I need to quit my job just to bookmooch all day.

Thanks guys.

14- Yay! I knew you'd like it just takes a little time!

14. 'She's hooked' :-))

karenmarie, if you want, I'll part with my copy of The Uncommon Reader for you (it's a good book but it's just gathering dust on my shelves...)

Just leave me a private message!

It helps if there are a lot of books you want. Imagine going into a used bookstore with a list of only a few books--you're not likely to find them on the first trip.

I'm now at 6 requests for books, and thanks to Jibrailis, I'm going to get The Uncommon Reader. I'm still browsing. I can probably fill in some Rex Stout and perhaps even a romance or two, but might hold out for some of my wishlisted books.

One wishlisted book that is available is international and the other is promised to someone else, but that's okay.

I'll keep adding wishlisted books.

I did look at recommendations, and there are lots of books there that I might consider - thanks for the tip torontoc!

I'll feel more comfortable mooching books when I mail out the 6, hopefully today.

Thanks, everybody, for the responses so far. You've helped a lot.

Hi karenmarie!

So glad to see that posting here has gotten things going for you.

Here's another piece of advice: look up a few of your most-wanted but also most obscure titles. Find who else has them wishlisted, then check *those* people's inventories!

I've found numerous titles this way; it seems like the people who want to read the things I do also tend to be giving away books that sound interesting. It took me months to realize this on my own, but once I did it became an excellent way for me to get turned on to authors and titles I hadn't even known before... Happy reading!

Elizabeth ("fullmoonblue")

That's a very good tip. I love to browse other people's inventories. I'm usually doing it with the people who have mooched from me or own a book that I'm interested in and often see other books and then look up the info on Amazon to learn more about the book. I hadn't thought of looking at others who are wishing for books that I like or want.

Excellent idea, Elizabeth! Thanks for sharing.

I mailed my 6 books yesterday. I also mooched a book that must have come up pretty recently - there are two people with it wishlisted but I mooched it anyway - I don't know the proper etiquette - is it okay to grab a book if it comes up and you see it even if other people have it wishlisted? I imagine that it must be so from the posts on other BookMooching topics I've seen....?

Haha, yes, everything is really on a first come first serve basis on BookMooch! Also, a book may be on a couple of people's wishlists, but they could all be inactive if the book has been mooched a lot previously (my book "A Lesson Before Dying", for example, although that's been mooched now thankfully!)
I'm glad you're warming up to BM, don't forget to spread the word to your friends and family! :)

If it's not reserved, it's fair game! I've gotten more of my wishlisted books by regularly reviewing my wishlist and finding something available than by responding to e-mail notifications. Putting it on a wishlist doesn't reserve it, it just gets an e-mail notification. Happy hunting.

On other thing I didn't see mentioned here is that lots of people check what books are wishlisted before adding them to give away, so by putting it on your wishlist, you're encouraging someone to list it! I know I always check if a book is wishlisted... particularly if I'm browsing at the library sale or something and see something that looks like a good mooch opportunity!

25: Definitely! I actually have 2 lists in my purse for when I go to the used bookstore- the BM top 100 wishlisted books, and some of my friend's wishlists. It's really amazing how often I'll see one of the listed books in the thrift store or used bookstore!

Re: #7

I have noticed that Wonder Boys often turns up, at least once a month. (I'm also a big Michael Chabon fan and I only recently finished collecting all his works-- half of them obtained by Mooching!)

karenmarie, wait until you go off to the post office with bags of packages! (my record is 14 BM packages).

Best way to beef your inventory, imo, is to shop at a library sale. Buy a couple of trade paperbacks that you hear people talking about here on LT (or you know are in demand...say, like anything by Chuck Palahniuk:-) for about $1 a piece. List them and watch them go!

Are those BM lists of 'most desired' and, what was it, "most copies unmooched" still around?

Hey avaland! I took 6 the other day and will take 3 on a break this afternoon.

I just looked, and yes, Most Mooched and Most Wishlisted, which I would interpret as most desired are there. Lots of good ideas.

I have quite a few books on my catalog that are tagged "bookmooch". I'm trying to add a few at a time to BM to get rid of those books first before I start buying books for people to mooch, although I must admit that I have the most wishlisted books printed. I might buy some to list.....

I'm still trying to find books I want. I've mooched 2, both internationally. I guess patience is a virtue.