Be Excellent To Each Other

POLL: Poll is for participants of the book swap - please select your own name in the poll when you receive a book from the Book Swap. Thanks!

OK, well I have been reading the book thread on and off and realise that I read quite different books to many of the people posting, because in many genres I just wouldn't know what was good.

Like most people I have a bookshelf stacked two or three deep with books that I have enjoyed but will never read again, yet don't want to dispose of, and with no way to get them to a charity shop, they just 'collect'.

So, with the great idea of the mix CD swap under the beex'ers belt I wondered if anyone would lihe to do the same thing, but with books. Although it would be the same as you are not actually making/writing the books. Or compiling a collection of different authors writings. No, you are just taking a book from your shelf and posting it to someone.

The success of this is not dependent on numbers, as long at the number is more than one. With two people ther may be a sucessful swap, but there is also no maximum number of people - the more the merrier.

So, what books will make a good swap.

The book should be one which you have enjoyed, or found to be of merit. We all have really awful books, but it's not just a way of getting rid of one of them. the book should be something that you think other people should read, but bare in mind that you almost certainly won't be getting the book back so no cherished novels nor sentimental additions to your library, please.

The book does not necessarily have to be a work of fiction, as long as you believe it to be interesting/entertaining.

If people would like to take part, please say 'aye up, lass' or something to that effect in this thread.

The date of the posting of the books will be Monday 22nd September - Saturday 27th September, so people have a whole week to sneak the book into their work's franking machine pile go to the Post Office.

If anyone is interested, please sign on the dotted line. If it is sucsessful, then maybe books can be swapped every two or three months?

This has been a Monkey announcement.

I hope you mean Friday 26th of September.

Definitly cound me in, nice one Meems!

Sounds like a good idea. I'm in.

It's a great idea. I'm definitely up for it. Different people would get different books, of course, so it would be a fun way to see how we appear to other BETEOns.

Hehe, yep, that's he one

How does it work in regard to addresses etc? Do we send them to one person who sends them on or to each other?

Everyone will PM me their address and I will pass on to each person taking part the address of another member who they should send their book to.

Sorry, I should have explained that - I have organised book swaps a few times on different sites

I will PM participants for their addresses and to give them the address of where their book is going nearer to the date.

M

I'd love to say yes, but I'm a bit of a hoarder and don't know if I can actually part with any of my books. Anything I think has any merit I'd want to keep - let me take a look at my collection.

Me too, Myp. That's one of the motivations for doing this, though. I hoard the books that I have enjoyed (and even the ones I haven't) but I think it is healthy to force yourself to stop sticking with what you find comfortable and recognisable, and try something new. You will (hopefully) be getting another book of equal merit to your own, everyone should send a book that they much enjoy.

I already know which book I am going to send and it is one of my favourites, but I know I'll be getting a good read in exchange

I am game for this.

Super

Important info:

If people could declare their wishing to take part before Friday 19th September, I can contact people over next weekend.

Hellos, yes please.

Thanks for joining, Mali

I'll PM participants on Friday 19th to hopefully collect addresses, etc, over the weekend.

Mimi,

When you've done this thing in the past, have people complained about the state of the book they received vis-a-vis the well looked after tome they sent on?

It's just that I fear I might have been loving some of my books a little too much...

No, there has never been a complaint of any sort about the quality of the book.

When you say 'loving your books too much' you don't mean ... I assume

I think as long as the pages are still in tact and it isn't literally falling to bits, the important quality is the text itself. It's more about promoting some of your favourite literature then a beauty contest for books

Wou;ld it matter that I regularly cross out the 'AND' words in instruction manuals and repalce them with 'BUT' before giving them to people, at all, ever?

This would depend on whether you were just planning on sending out instruction manuals to people rather than books.

My time working for St John's Ambulance was not wasted.

I will join in with this in the future, but not this particular time as I am leaving the country in the next couple of days and won't be back for a bit.

OK, giving a little bump to this - anyone wants in, please say 'aye' by Friday!

EVEN MORE IMPORTANT INFO

If anyone else wants to take part in this please PM me your name and address by Friday evening, entitling your PM 'Book Swap'. If you use a screen name on here and want the book sent to a work address, please be sure to include a name by which your work's post room will recognise you.

Thankie thankie.

How do I post a book to someone? Do I just go to the post office and say "send this book to this person"?
Foolish, I know, but I actually need to do this properly. Plus, I would like to JOIN THIS CLUB. Pms away. I have an excellent book I recently read. It was a first of many for me I hope a really manly man gets it.

Hi Pod.

Are you a wee bit tipsy?

Er, just in case you really don't know how a post office works, wrap your book in brown paper, or put it in a bubble envelope, put the address that I will give you at the weekend on the envelope, and take it to the Post Office. They will sort the rest out for you and levy a small charge for this service.

Count me in for this, although while I'm pretty much addicted to buying books, I'm a right old lazy sod when it comes to actually reading them. Is this scheme restricted to fiction, or does it include non-fiction too?

Meanwhile, I've had a vaguely similar (and yet, quite different) idea to a BeEx book swap, which I should get around to starting a thread about.

It is true, you are a lazy reader! No, I'm only kidding, nice to have you join us Mark X, please PM me your address details when you can

This is very true. Duly PM'd.

Right, I haven't actually delved into my collection yet. I hope people don't hate science fiction, as that's what most of my books are.

Most people like science fiction without knowing that they like it, as silly booksellers scatter it all around the shop instead of putting it all in the Science Fiction category.

On the whole though, the 'sci-fi' sub-genre (categorised as it is by laser guns and spaceships) is less accepted (apart from in films).

Last bump - PM me with address etc if interested.

I'm really sorry, I haven't had chance to look through my shelves yet. Might be best to go without me if you're hanging around.

Well, I won't start organising the swap until Saturday, so if you find chance to look before then, please feel free to PM me your address and join.

Ok, will do.

Mimi,

Is the swap going to be done anonymously or may we enclose a little note with the books?

you can enclose a little note if you like. Keep it anonymous until the person receives the book, perhaps, just for surprise value

I'm going to trawl my bookshelves tonight. Wish me luck!

My wife and I are doing this as a joint thing, so whoever we get should hopefully receive a book we both really like, which should increase the odds of the recipient liking it.

That's ace, RevO, I'm going to start getting this organised tomorrow, so please PM me your addresses TODAY (friday) if you want to take part.

I suppose like Mypymoo and Shin we are all going to have genres we are the most fond of. I hope my recipient likes to read about serial killers.

Well, I said to PM me addresses on Friday for me to arrange and PM people with over the weekend, which I will do this afternoon/evening.

I'm going to give an official deadline of 1pm today (Saturday) for addresses and will PM people this evening/tomorrow morning.

OK, I'm closing this now.

I'll sort out the addresses and PM them to people in a mo, as soon as I get them organised.

Thanks for taking part people. Anyone else who missed it this time, there'll be another if people enjoy this one!

________________________________________________

OK stop.



HAMMERTIME!

OK - addresses have been PM'd to participants.

Don't forget, the person that you are sending your book to WILL NOT be the person you are receiving a book from. It is organised so that they are swapped in a circle.

I received addresses from:

Craig
Goddess Jasmine
Kern
MaliA
Mark X
(myself)
Mr Russ
Pod
The Rev Owen
Shin
Vegetables

(that's not the swapping order either, it's just an alphabetical list, in case you were wondering )

Feel free to include a little note about your choice, or just to say hi if you want (not needed, of course, but someone earlier in the thread asked if they might)

OK, I hope that everyone enjoys their books, thanks for taking part folks, hopefully everyone should receive their book in the next week or so.

Thanks for the PM, Mimi (well, and for coming up with the whole scheme and organising it and everything too, of course). Will send out a parcel to my given address on Monday.