Thursday, February 10, 2011

Two Books Enter, One Book Leaves

Last Thursday, Hugo House sponsored a combination happy hour/swap meet for book-lovers at the Seattle Public Library. Each person bring two good books as his admission fee. Once inside, each person buys a drink, browses the tables of books, chats with fellow book-lovers and picks one new-to-him book to take home. At the end of the night, all the extra books are donated to Friends of the Library. Everybody wins!

This is a great idea for a children's library, schools, college bookstores, book clubs building a lending library, writing groups. On top of everything, add a few new writers and booksignings to the mix. Maybe have some finger food from a local sponsor. Heck, add a theme to it.

I just fell in love with this idea and had to share.

9 comments:

Christine Macdonald said...

Wonderful idea and news. Thank you for sharing.

Anne Elizabeth Mueller said...

I love this idea! Thank you for sharing.

Laura M. Campbell said...

Fantastic idea. This is a great way to generate traffic into a library and meet new friends.

A couple months ago, a few friends and I thought of something similar: Book Swap Happy Hour. Somehow it never took off. I guess it doesn't help when I'm not willing to part with many of my novels.

Angie said...

Thanks! I think this is a wonderful idea. I hope it gets picked up everywhere. I always keep "trading stock books" and this would be the perfect way to give, trade, and get a new read. Makes me feel even better that I have so many books. Can't do this with the e-readers - at least not yet - not this way. Nice!

Chris said...

What a coincidence. A close friend emailed me today and inquired if I knew of any book clubs in our area. Unfortunately we haven't been able to find one in close proximity but we do have a small library branch nearby. Perhaps I will approach the library with this idea. Also, I liked the idea of a Book Swap Happy Hour that was mentioned by another reader.

MaDonna Maurer said...

LOVE this idea! Thanks for sharing. Putting it my back pocket to remember to do when we are trying to get books for a new community center.

Patricia Singleton said...

What a great idea. I am going to the library at noon for my first time meeting with a writers' group that a friend told me about. Will ask if they have ever done anything like this.

Patricia Singleton said...

A writer friend just introduced me to your newsletters and your blog. I am going to my first meeting of her writers' group at my local library at noon today.

I will ask if they have ever done anything like this book swap. It is a great idea. Thanks for sharing it.

Cindy Kerschner said...

Great idea. I like adding an autograph opportunity to the mix!