the book swap

I am so excited by the book swap @ my company (www.roisolutions.com). Perhaps considered by some ‘a trivial thing’ but for many reasons, it makes me super happy to see this. Every day, when there’s a new book or two – or more even! – added to the table: I look at them all.

It started out one day when I was cleaning off my bookshelves, at the office and rather than remove them from the shelves (typically by taking them to one of two locations: a) the used bookstore in my town or b) one of those boxes up the street for the more outdated/textbook books) instead, I put them on the big black table in the middle of the office along with a little note: “Unwanted books + (frowny face).  Help yourself + (happy face).  By morning, many were gone.  Strange, out-of-date, seemingly irrelevant books were suddenly freed from my dusty bookshelves into what I imagined were the stacks of “to be read” books in my co-workers living rooms, bedrooms and dens.

Wow.  That’s both weird and awesome.

The #bookswap is off to a slow, but promising start.  Today there were 5 more books than yesterday – and good ones, actually.  Tomorrow, there will be three more or maybe five, depending on my ambition.  But it’s not just me contributing.  In fact I’ve only primed it with the original 10 or 15 and a smattering since.  And the fact that it’s not just me contributing makes me so happy.  You know, ’cause I don’t want to read my own unwanted books.  That would be sad.

I’ve only picked up one book thus far from the #SWAPile: Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses which apparently you can get free as an e-book, (who knew?) but there’s something about reading it as a paper book; something I should have done 20 years ago, but never found the time.  I am hoping to do so now.  One of these days.  For now, it will be added to one of the piles in my den, or bedroom, or living room. Ah.  Books….I just love ’em.