Tuesday Thingers 7/15 – Book-swapping (hosted by Marie of The Boston Bibliophile)

Today’s topic: Book-swapping. Do you do it? What site(s) do you use? How did you find out about them? What do you think of them? Do you use LT’s book-swapping column feature for information on what to swap? Do you participate in any of the LT communities that discuss bookswapping, like the Bookmooch group for example?

Well, I have to say “yes and no” to the “Do you book-swap?” question. Inspired by the “read and release” philosophy of BookCrossing (which I joined almost six years ago [as bookcookie39] but where I’m no longer very active), I rarely hold on to books once I finish reading them. I’ll give them away to friends (my off-line book club includes a book swap our meetings), donate them to the Friends of the Library for their bookstore, or just leave them in a safe place where they might be found and taken. When I was an active BookCrosser, I did quite a lot of “releasing by mail,” sending my used books to other members who requested them. In that tradition, these days, when one of my blog readers leaves an insightful comment on a book I’ve reviewed and expresses the intention to keep an eye out for it, I’ve been known to offer to send her my copy – if I didn’t plan to keep it anyway, it’s nice to know where it’s going (and look forward to another review!). I actually like doing this, except for the part that involves going to the post office – and that part is the admittedly lame reason why I do much less of it than I used to.

I’ve never been all that big on true book-swapping, though. I’m happy to give you a book I’ve finished reading, but I’ll rarely take one in return. That’s another BookCrossing-related thing; when I was arranging to send someone one of my books and she offered “something from (her) BC bookshelf” in exchange, I started finding it tiring and time-consuming to browse all those other people’s collections, especially when they didn’t seem to have much in common with my own, so I basically copped out on trading and just gave away books. (Responding with “Oh, it’s fine, you can just have it,” seemed more polite than saying, “Sorry, you just don’t have anything that I want.”) In-person swapping, with the books in hand at the time, is much more manageable for me. If I ever change my mind about that, though, I may have to check out LT’s swap-sites links. If the book “giving” and book “getting” are separate transactions, that may be worth trying. If one of you book-swappers can enlighten me on how all that works, I’d appreciate it!

Vacation Spots – Booking though Thursday (hosted by Deb)

There are usually some books in my TBR collection that I have mentally set aside as “good vacation reading” for time or thematic reasons (if not both), and I’ll take a few of them with me. I’ll usually take more books than I think I can possibly get through, just in case I have more reading time than expected – I would not want to run out of reading material! However, if that should happen, it would just be a good excuse – as if I need one – to check out a local bookstore, which is something I’ll rarely pass up an opportunity to do.

Since I don’t have a “regular” vacation spot that I return to every year or so – my in-laws do have a fishing cabin in the Eastern Sierras, but there are no bookstores for miles – I don’t have a specific “away” bookstore that I visit. But it’s rare that I don’t end up in a bookstore at least once during any vacation (or at least check out the books display in a gift shop). It may be an intriguing-looking local shop – sometimes I’ve found books in those stores that wouldn’t have crossed my radar at home, and bringing them back with me has turned out to be a very good decision. At other times, it may be a nearby Borders or B&N, just because I’m jonesing for some new reading material (even though I did bring books with me).

Because here’s the thing about me and bookstores – if it’s rare for me not to end up in one, it’s extremely unusual for me to leave one empty-handed. What about you?

Friday Fill-In #81 (hosted by Janet)

All questions this week are courtesy of Sherry; thank you, girl!

1. If I could be a fly on the wall I would listen in to what goes on in some of those meetings I’m not invited to (boring, huh?).

2. Jealousy is occasionally motivating, but usually just unpleasant.

3. When I see a shooting star my wish would be that I could have three more wishes.

4. I’d rather be early than stuck in traffic any day!

5. Certain songs when I hear them make me wanna push the “skip” button on the iPod or change the station on the radio.

6. If time were in a bottle I’d use an extra couple of hours of it every day (most likely for sleeping)!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to something I haven’t quite planned out yet, tomorrow my plans include writing, reading, and maybe even some housecleaning and Sunday, I want to see The Dark Knight with my husband, and then write a review of it to post here!

1. What is the best classic you were “forced” to read in school (and why)? Huckleberry Finn. I read Tom Sawyer on my own – it’s more of a kids’ book, in my opinion – but might not have read Huck if it weren’t required American Lit. reading. It’s a good story with a great main character, but from where we are now, it’s also an important historical document in context of its time and place.
   
2. What was the worst classic you were forced to endure (and why)? Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff isn’t a tortured hero, he’s just a beast. Far too much romantic mythology about “the bad boy” sprung from here. Sorry, I can’t really be objective – I just heartily dislike this book.
   
3. Which classic should every student be required to read (and why)? Slaughterhouse-Five. It’s a more modern “classic,” granted – it may even be postmodern in its blend of elements (history, science fiction, existentialist absurdity) – and that in itself is enough reason to read it. So it goes.
   
4. Which classic should be put to rest immediately (and why)? Beowulf. I took Shakespeare instead of British Lit. in high school just to avoid it :-). Seriously, though, I don’t really have an answer for this one – I suppose I could vote for Wuthering Heights, though.
   
5. **Bonus** Why do you think certain books become classics? They’re well-written, their themes are universal and timeless, and they have at least one appealing, sympathetic character.

What would your answers to these questions be?

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