Bookhopping
Bookhopping is a collaborative book exchange via the Internet through an organised website.
The particular feature of bookhopping is that it is neither a swap nor a trade, it is simply an agreement by one bookhopper to send any other bookhopper a book from their bookshelf when requested. The bookhop will usually take place via the mail, but bookhoppers can arrange to meet face to face if they wish.
In return for sending books, the sender gets the right to request any books from any other bookhopper's bookshelves. Each bookhopper lists the books that they have available on their virtual "bookshelf" from which other bookhoppers can then search, browse and choose. When a book is selected, the sender is informed, usually by email, and the book is packaged up and sent off.
If the book is sent in the mail then the sender pays the postage. This baffles some people in that they think that you shouldn't have to pay to give somebody else a book. What the sender is receiving is not monetary, but the right to request books in the future.
Bookhopping is a NATURAL extension of the social trend of communal or collaborative social interaction via the Internet. One of the early adopters of this was the website BookCrossing.com where books are left in public places and tracked via the Internet.