Back in October, I wrote a post about book swapping that took swipes at four services. It included Bookins, which I dismissed after finding BAFAB (Buy a Friend a Book) on a links page. BAFAB is a made-up holiday, consisting of four weeks a year, that asks people to buy books for friends for no reason other than as a thoughtful gift. I'm not a supporter, mostly because I think friends should buy/loan friends books all the time. Designating special week for it, and four a year no less, is a bit much.

Debra Hamel, BAFAB's creator, recently saw that old post and took exception to it. Now months later, I realize what I wrote was kind of harsh, but I'm not sure I agree with Debra's assessment that "marydell of bookblog.net went into a strange rant against, well, me." First off, it wasn't about Debra Hamel, the person, since I know little about her. I simply am not a fan of her reviews or BAFAB. And, I'm pretty sure I did not rant. Although choice words were used, anyone who's ever had some real life contact with me has likely seen me really lose it and really start ranting. It isn't pretty...or a flattering portrait.

I never insinuated that BAFAB was a "cash cow" because I have no issue with anyone attempting to earn money from a website. I certainly do it here since the bandwidth bill is more than I care to pay out of pocket. Also being an Amazon Associate and knowing their schedule (which has since changed), the timing of BAFAB just seemed suspicious to me at the time. But, hey, it's BAFAB Week right now, so go buy a book and do it through BAFAB's recommendations or enter a contest.

In any case, I have no objections to Debra's defense of herself and "holiday" by writing a counter-post. After reading through the comments on her site, I noted that a BAFAB fan had wanted to respond directly to me. I generally close comments to avoid spam, but I have reopened this one and invite anyone to go ahead and praise BAFAB over there. As visitors google "book swapping" and land on the page, they'll also get to see counter-comments. I'm all for debate and exposure to varying points of view.

Although I have no problem with Debra's displeasure with me, I am kind of bothered that she felt compelled to post her response in three places: the BAFAB site, her personal site, and MetaxuCafe. For my part, I said what I said here and only here. BookBlog wasn't even a member of MetaxuCafe back in October, so my harsh words didn't reach beyond the audience of my own site. Dragging me through the mud in front of the entire litblogging community seems, like BAFAB, a bit much. Regardless, I have apologized to Debra since my intent was never to hurt her feelings and I am sincerely sorry if she took it that way.

Since October, some of my original assumptions have changed. BAFAB is still not for me, but I better see the consequences of sharing unpositive thoughts without better-tempered language. I'm also now a member of Bookins. Despite my criticism, Eddie still found it to be worthwhile enough to check out, and he made me join so he could get referral points. So far, I have traded about a dozen books through them. I have some additional thoughts based on the experience, both pro and con, which I'll share at a future time.