I have been chatting with some of my fellow romance readers and bloggers, and we seem to all have the same problem about what to do with ARCS or other books we read and can't keep because of lack of space. Some have thought about throwing out their books, and for myself, to throw out a book is the worst thing I can do. If it came down to it, I would put a box of books in front of my house with a big sign that says- "FREE BOOKS!"
Lately, I have been mailing out books to friends and those I have come to know very well on the net as a solution. For some this is too pricey, and the, idea came up about donating books. But the big question is where to donate?
If you are in the same boat as I am, I may have the answer to this problem. Share the Love is a new site founded by romance authors, Maya Rodale and Ann Bleakley, who want you to donate your old and new romance novels to:
"Provide assistance to women in transitional periods of their lives—homeless and domestic violence shelters, prisons and recovery half-way houses—and that help them establish independent lives."
These books would go to the Women in Need, Inc. "Founded in 1983, today serves over 8,500 people including 5,000 children who are homeless and disadvantaged. We strive to restore dignity, promote independence and provide stable housing to vulnerable families who face major obstacles that threaten to destroy their lives. When families find themselves without options, we provide them with housing, skills, knowledge, understanding and support"
Among Share the Love, there are other places that also take donations such as:
Books for Africa
Books for Soldiers
Salvation Army
If anyone has any other donation places that can recommend, post here, and I will add to the list. Why not share the love and donate your books that can bring happiness to others?
Katiebabs (KB)
16 comments:
Katie, this is a wonderful idea and I'm definitely going to go through my bookshelves and start getting a box together.
Katie, what a great idea! I was so running out of space and YES it is pricey to keep mailing books around. I have start getting together and box to mail out to one of these places.
I think it would be great if book related review sites or blogs posted about this or took part. *hint hint* :D
I have sent several boxes of books overseas to the soldiers in Iraq. It is a great idea and I hope people do it!
Katiebabs, I just stole... erm... borrowed your idea and posted about this in Suzanne Brockmann's board. Thank you for the information, you are the sweetest!
(will also post at Karen's, methinks, the more people know about it, the better)
This is such a great idea! I also share my books with some ladies on the internet, and have limited space for keepers, although I REFUSE to throw away books. I will be posting on this as well.
I don't have any alternatives to suggest - just wanted to say this is a FANTASTIC idea. And throwing perfectly good books are is a sacrilege!!!
We have a large childrens hospital here that loves donations of used childrens books. A few years ago, when my kids outgrew their Goosebumps and other books, I took a huge box to them and they loved it. They have shelves of books in the play areas and they have a Pink Lady that takes around a library cart to the kids rooms who are unable to walk down the hall to the play areas, everyday so the kids check them out and return them just like a library.
Our city library wouldn't take the books because they were paperback, so I almost threw them out. So glad I didn't!
Yes! This is a wonderful idea and I am in full support of it.
I just left this message over at Karen's place, too--
Here's another site that accepts used books. I don't remember where I heard about it, but I bookmarked it for future use (i.e. when I finally finish getting my books organized).
Books for Soldiers:
Another great site for kids', young adult, and some mainstream books is reader-to-reader.org. Not sure it's ideal for romance, so I *love* having a place to send those. Thank you!
There's a decent-sized Salvation Army store not far from the hizzy where I usually drop off bags of books a few times every few years. In fact, I have some bags waiting to go to them right at this moment. Thanks for the reminder and the other ideas!
I'm supposed to tell you I've chosen you for the Love Your Blog Award. (I need to learn to say no to memes.)
This is a very worthy cause.
Great idea! This is a totally worthy cause.
What a great idea! Thank you!
Those are all great ideas KB! I'm lucky in that I have a friend who's father started a library in a small town near by. It's not an official county library but it works great for the townfolk. They are eternally grateful for all the books I pass on to them. They'll have a great romance section by the time I get done with them! lol
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