Whether you're looking to de-clutter your bookshelves, source free books, build community and rapport with a group, or have a good time, a book swap is where it's at.
In an effort to create connection and avoid isolation in 2021, I started a virtual book club. I put out a call on social media to friends interested in joining and gathered an adventurous group of people scattered across the country who answered the call. We currently span three time zones and celebrated our two year anniversary in August 2022.
My experience with other reading groups have always been hit or miss. I've never stayed in a book club more than a few months at a time. Sometimes this was because of parenting responsibilities overwhelming my personal schedule or the many times that I've moved, but more often than not, it was because I didn't enjoy the genres picked, the way the group was organized, the lack of actual discussion the book, or the format of the group just got stale. So, when I set out to create a book club of my own, I was determined to make it the kind of space and experience that would keep me engaged and always coming back to the next meeting for more. At one of our early meetings, I floated the idea of a virtual book swap to my fellow members, and I'm thrilled that the majority agreed to participate. The book swap is now an much anticipated annual event.
What is a Book Swap?
A book swap is a simple affair if you're doing it in person. Gather your group, have them bring a few books that they're ready to part with, and create a book "buffet" on the host's table or countertop. Each person takes a turn choosing a book or books they'd like to read and take home. Whatever is left over can be donated to a nearby charity by the host, or members can take their leavings back home. Easy peasy.
In the virtual world, the book swap is more complicated, especially the farther away your members live from each other. On the other hand, a virtual book swap can be so much fun when you receive a package in the mail with a book in it (as opposed to junk mail or another bill. Am I right?).
Here are the basic steps to host a virtual book swap:
Choose dates and clearly communicate them. You need a deadline by which partners should exchange survey forms as well as a deadline by which they should mail their book. Additionally, you should consider a date for when the group can meet to discuss all of the books swapped. Our book club holds our swap discussion in the fall to give members all summer to read their books. Alternatively, if you have a very large group, you may want to encourage the members swapping to review their reads in pairs or small groups outside of your regular meeting time.
Determine who wants to participate. If you haven't already, you really should set up an account for your book club on BookClubs.com. It's free to use, easy to set up, and an indispensable way to communicate about rules, meeting dates and times, and book selections along with sharing important documents like meeting agendas, discussion guides, contact lists, etc. You can generate a simple Yes/No poll there or on the companion app if you cannot wait to discuss with members at the next meeting.
Once you know who wants to join, randomly select who will be swapping books with each other. I used www.wheelofnames.com to help me do this. This is another free, easy-to-use tool to have at your disposal. Just start with the name at the top of your list, set the wheel to spin, and whomever it picks gets to be the top person's partner. Remove both names, and then spin again repeating until all members are partnered. If you have an odd number, you can always have a group of three which each person sending their book clockwise around the triangle.
Announce book swap partners. Ideally, you have already gathered member contact information and posted it where members can access it on their own rather than having requests for that come to you. Once partners or groups are announced, direct members to look up their partner or group member contact information in preparation for the next step.
Provide a quick survey form. Each partner will fill out their own and then send it to their partner. The form should have a space for the partner to provide their full name and mailing address, the types of genres they typically read or what they might like to be surprised with, and perhaps some information on book length. Recipients of the form will do their best to choose a book from their shelves that most closely matches what their partner requested. These are easy to create via Google Surveys or SurveyMonkey.com.
Reasons to Hold a Book Swap
Book exchanges address a variety of needs depending on how you set it up, and who doesn't love an activity that multitasks?
Firstly, swaps present a way to reduce the clutter on your bookshelves. Granted, you'll likely get rid of a larger quantity of books by donating your books outright, but to me there's something comforting about ensuring that a book you've read is put into the hands of a reader you know, especially since there's a good chance that they will care for and appreciate it more. If you have books that you didn't especially enjoy or even couldn't finish, what could be better than finding out that your partner might be a perfect fit for your book's future home?
Secondly, in the case of our club, swaps offer a way for members to stay involved over the long-term when they need to step back from regular meetings. Well over half of our group are moms with underage children and lots of other family obligations to meet. Every member has things come up from time to time that make showing up for meetings every month difficult. I thought it might be helpful to offer a book swap spanning the end of May through the middle of September so that members needing to step back during the summer can have a way to stay involved with fewer commitments until our dedicated swap discussion in the fall. Plus, many of our members already read more than just our club pick each month, so this provides them with an additional book to read at a very low cost.
Thirdly, I absolutely LOVE the idea that partnered members have the opportunity to learn more about each other as individual readers. Because we're virtual, getting to know each other is much more of a challenge. Learning about a member's reading tastes (as well as what they don't like) and sharing books from each other's shelves builds relationships and strengthens the overall community of the club. Holding a swap in which the readers commit to reading each other's books because they know they'll be expected to share what they read, whether they liked it or not at a future meeting can potentially expand members' genre preferences while developing critical review and speaking skills.
Finally, whether in-person or virtual, holding a book club meeting in which MULTIPLE books are reviewed versus everyone discussing the same one really sets the usual format on its head, keeping the club vibe fresh and focused. At our September meeting, I plan on giving each member 5-10 minutes to answer the same set of questions. Below are some basic questions everyone who has read their book should be able to answer:
What did you like best about this book?
What did you like least about this book?
What other books did this remind you of?
Share a favorite quote from the book. Why did this quote stand out?
What other books by this author have you read? How did they compare to this book?
Would you read another book by this author? Why or why not?
Other Considerations
Obviously, unless you make other arrangements, the book or books you send or bring to a swap should be ones you are willing to part with forever. When mailing books, there is the cost of shipping to consider. Shipping USPS Media Mail is the cheapest way to go. Also, while there is also the possibility that you may bring or send a book that your partner has already read, the probability of that is fairly low. If it matters to you, you might think about allowing partners to share in advance what they have on their shelves to send or bring from home, but, personally, I think that this rather ruins the fun of the surprise. If it's affordable, you could always send more than one book. What are the chances that your partner will already have both?
If you want to up the mysteriousness of the swap, write down the first sentence of the book you are sending or bringing on a card and then wrap the book in gift wrap, butcher paper, or the remains of a paper grocery bag. Affix the card to the outside. If you're really into it, why not full-out decorate your wrapped book with ribbon, collage the outside with photos hinting at the theme or characters inside, or write other short excerpts from the book all over the paper covering? You might include a cute notebook or sticky notes pad and a fun pen to encourage your partner to take notes (a MUST if it will be months before your review at the meeting!).
Whatever you choose to do, commit to read the book you receive. Think of what a letdown it would be for your partner to send you the book only for you not to have read it. As with so many other things, you will get out of the book swap what you put into it. I cannot wait to share our club's experiences here with you!
Cheep At Me Peeps!
Have you ever participated in a book swap before? If so, what kind? What did you like about it? What could have made it better? I'd love to hear all about it. Cheep at with me in the comments below.
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