Nice viewpoint, though I can't agree with this part.

“If I’m reading a truly, actively bad book, I’ll throw it out,” he says. His wife will protest, but he points out that he’s doing a public service: “If I don’t throw it out, someone else might read it.” If that person is one of the many committed to finishing a book once started, he’s actually doing harm.

Sell the book or donate it to a public library. That way you get some of your money back and if the book is no good this will, over time, be reflected in its price on the second-hand market. Simply discarding it will actually raise it's price and thereby distorting the market through raising it's price and thus it's suggested value.

What I do with books that are no good but worthless to sell as their price in the low single digits, I put them in a moderately frequented area with a note saying "take me home!". Then I don't feel guilty about throwing away a perfectly good book, donating crap to a library and I don't waste my time with inefficient ways to earn money. Oh and I get a nice warm feeling knowing that someone has the satisfaction of getting a book he or she wants for free or this person gets enjoyment from throwing a bad book in the trash.