Sunday, 4 August 2013
Tuesday, 2 October 2012
Online Bookstores in India
Here we are trying to create a list of online stores you can head to to find your favorite titles. We will be adding more details as the post develops.

Flipkart.com - Very Reliable. Excellent deliveries. Costly in comparison to other online book buying avenues.

Landmarkonthenet.com - Similiar to Flipkart. Almost matches their deliveries and generally cheaper.

Homeshop18.com - One of the cheapest online book buying option available right now. Collection is nice. Their delivery though, is a bit lax.

Shopping.indiatimes.com - Another excellent book-buying avenue. They generally have lots of discounts offer going on which makes their deals even more cheaper. Their collection is good and delivery is also satisfactory.
uread.com - A lesser known but good online bookstore out there. Their collection is decent and price is also comparable to Landmarkonthenet. Their delivery is also quite satisfactory.

Indiaplaza.in - Okay delivery. Quite cheap prices (cheaper than flipkart and Landmarkonthenet).

Flipkart.com - Very Reliable. Excellent deliveries. Costly in comparison to other online book buying avenues.

Landmarkonthenet.com - Similiar to Flipkart. Almost matches their deliveries and generally cheaper.

Homeshop18.com - One of the cheapest online book buying option available right now. Collection is nice. Their delivery though, is a bit lax.

Shopping.indiatimes.com - Another excellent book-buying avenue. They generally have lots of discounts offer going on which makes their deals even more cheaper. Their collection is good and delivery is also satisfactory.
uread.com - A lesser known but good online bookstore out there. Their collection is decent and price is also comparable to Landmarkonthenet. Their delivery is also quite satisfactory.

Indiaplaza.in - Okay delivery. Quite cheap prices (cheaper than flipkart and Landmarkonthenet).
Thursday, 20 September 2012
Join us
We have just crossed one year into existence this August and
the journey has been quite enlightening. It started with all the cliché stuff
with people highlighting all the ways this was not a bright idea, or at least
the flaws in the plan. We’re not still sure if it is a bright one, but I guess
we could do without bright as long as we get to read all we want.
We experimented with a lot of stuff and iterated along the
way. This has now left us with a basic understanding of what works and what
doesn’t and the problems that need to be solved.
The paths that are in front of us right now are in the
verticals of marketing, expanding collection, helping people read, financials, design,
book recommendations and community creation. All of these claim their own time
and effort.
This requires an expansion from the present 5 member team,
which bring us to the present recruitments.
We highly value a good team. Passionate people who love
books and share our vision of making more and more books accessible to people
and hence helping them read more. More
specifically, here are the qualities that we look forward to:
1. Love for reading: This is the glue that gels us
together. Improving a service that we use and cherish ourselves is one of the
biggest drivers.
Friday, 14 September 2012
Frequently asked questions
1. What is bookshelf?
Bookshelf is an initiative started by a few students of IIT Roorkee to help people read more.
2. How does it work?
Really short answer (RSA): A renting system for books.
We have a collection of books for you to choose from. We follow a renting system. You select a book and pay a deposit when taking it. When you are finished reading the book, we deduct the rent from the deposit and return you the balance.
3. How much does it cost?
RSA: Rs. 20 for 10 days.
The deposit on a book is NOT equal to the actual price of the book. It's a meagre Rs 100 for each book. This deposit will be returned to you once you are finished with the book. The rent is Rs. 20 for a time period of 10 DAYS.
Wednesday, 8 August 2012
Contributions from junta, then and now
Bookshelf started
with a personal collection of 30 odd books. Then came surprises in form friends
coming out with their contributions to the collection and a lot of
serendipitous interactions regarding books, ending in friendships.
The cause
had an enigma that attracted people, brilliant ones at that.
The potential of bookshelf in R-land seemed bright and we
ended up with 150 books to offer by the end of the last semester. It was clear
that contributions were the way to go. It ballooned our collection (which was,
and is, never sufficient) easily and the books started moving among people more
swiftly, safely and timely.
Alongside, as the collection grew, so did the required hustle.
There was a need to refine the system so that contributions could be rewarding
and fulfilling for people. We did recognize the fact that people are more than
willing to be a part of this but we still felt that be it as good in its own
right, it still couldn’t substitute a concrete model.
So coming on to the specifics, here is how it works.
How can you
contribute: You just have to fill this form by clicking here or the bottom of this post and list the
books you would like to contribute. That’s all.
Sunday, 5 August 2012
An Introduction to bookshelf
Bookshelf started out about a couple of years ago in Rajiv Bhawan with
a mission to promote reading and discussions in IIT Roorkee. We have gone
through a lot of experiences since then. We tried new things and tested new
platforms, iterating all the while to make the process of renting and reading smooth
and agile.
The developments bring us to our present form, though far
from a stagnant one, it does reflect the experiences and feedback that we got
from all of you, specially the early testers.
This post is for the benefit of those who are not yet
familiar with how bookshelf works and what underlying values it encompasses.
How it works?
We have a collection of novels. You can rent out the one you want by depositing a small sum of money (much less than the cost of the novel). You read and return the novel. We deduct a rent and return the deposit back.Thursday, 12 April 2012
bookshelf catalog: get it in your room
*subscribe to this blog by providing your email address at the top right corner.
People love paper. Be it tuts, prac files, notes or books. Though ease of maintainability, duplicity and transfer along with an uncanny ability of sheets to get lost have led to the rise of bits in place of atoms but hard copies still rule the roost as far as preferences are concerned.
On these lines, we are bringing you our catalog, on paper. The one you can scribble on and make planes and clean stuff with but one which will appease your love of paper. The catalog contains the list of books we have as on 29th July 2013 and a supporting(supposedly) page which tells you what we are up to.
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