¬ just serendipity 🍀 (not just serendipity)

Typically:

• Step 1: buy a physical book — via Amazon, bookstores, classifieds marketplaces (e.g. Craigslist in the US, Kijiji in Canada, Kleinanzeigen in Germany). Bonus points for used copies. This should take up to a week.

• Step 2: read the goddamn book. This is arguably the hardest part, albeit the most exciting one. As Alex Kotliarskyi puts it (emphasis mine):

The 80/20 rule says that 80% value come from 20% effort. What if we apply the 80/20 rule to the first 80%?

So 80% of 80% of value come from 20% of 20% of effort. Or 64% of the value come from 4% of the effort. Apply it again and you’ll get ~51% value from ~1% effort. Which is ballpark close to “Dimidium facti, qui coepit, habet” — Well begun is half done.

Once you start, it becomes much easier to go through it, I promise.

• Step 3: Find a way to get rid of the book.

There’s no shame. Have gratitude, appreciate it, and then simply move on. I don’t like to stick with physical books forever. They unnecessarily occupy space in my home.

There are various ways to do so:

• Donating is the easiest. Leave books by the vestibule of your apartment building complex with a post-it note stating that it’s free¹.
• Leave books in public community bookshelves or libraries.
• Gift a book to a friend. Bonus points for being thoughtful.
• Sell a book in a classified site. Bonus points for using the same one you got it from.

And now, adding the missing alternative to my repertoire:

momox:

Schnell & einfach Gebrauchtes verkaufen Was möchtest du verkaufen? Bücher & Medien Kleidung

Momox is

a Berlin-based recommerce site for used books and media founded by Christian Wegner in 2004.

In plain English: it’s like selling a book in a classified, but without having to wait for someone to actually message you².

Scan or input its ISBN, get an estimate of how much you’ll get for it (assuming it’s in good condition), arrange a box, pack the book, ship it for free, wait, and then get paid. It’s very streamlined and easy to use.

So far, I’ve only heard of this concept in Germany. I would love to find out if it’s possible to follow suit in other countries.