Anyone fancy joining a new book swap?

[artifarti]

I was wondering if anyone fancied joining me in a new Book Swap. I was part of one on here for a couple of years that worked really well, then we all got a bit busy and decided to give it a rest. Now no-one on MN seems to do them anymore!

The idea is that you get a small group together (up to about a dozen) of people who enjoy reading similar genres or are prepared to try something new. Everyone then chooses a book they have enjoyed, that’s not really famous or a bestseller. On the first day of each month, you post your book to the next person on the list...and then the same again on the following month. We posted chocolate too last time but that’s not compulsory! The idea is that you get to read books you haven’t heard of, and chat about them if you want to.

Some of the books we ended up reading last time: The Water of the Hills, Cutting for Stone, The Snow Child, On The Black Hill, Prince of Tides, The Weather in the Streets, Any Human Heart, Cat’s Eye, A Month in the Country.

Anyone interested? [worries about tumbleweed blowing over thread as no-one remembers book swaps]

[ghostoftheMNchicken]

Ooh, me! me! It sounds fun. Although admittedly my tbr pile is already big enough to crush me if it ever toppled over.

[artifarti]

Good stuff ghost! Hopefully a few more takers will rock up...

[KeithLeMonde]

Me me me please :) Am a sucker for books! The books listed above sound my type of reading too.

[aristocat]

arti I am here! It was great fun before and I would love to be involved again

[InsufficientlyCaffeinated]

I'll join!

[Footle]

Watching with interest.

[artifarti]

Hurray phew and welcome on board . aristocat - I knew I could lure you back

Last time we plumped for fiction only and I seem to remember that chick lit, horror and misery/abuse-lit were ruled out. But I'm open to discussion - what do you all like to read?

[KeithLeMonde]

I mainly read fiction. I'd agree with no horror or abuse memoirs, though I don't mind borderline chick lit (Fiona Gibson/Allison Pearson type of thing - funny, lightweight, but well written). Also open to non-fiction if it's interesting and readable.

Is the idea that 12 books go round everyone, so you receive a book in March and pass it on to the next person in April? Or do you just send a book every month from your own shelves?

[mailfuckoff]

Hi

I'm interested in joining, I like books!

[RufusTheReindeer]

Sounds good

I would agree with the current exceptions but would add "cock" lit to it as well

Dont ask me to define it as i have no idea but i know what i mean

[artifarti]

I'm not sure what cock-lit is either...and I'm not Googling it Welcome!

I also don't mind a bit of borderline chicklit...

You choose one book each and then that book goes from one person to the next. So, say, I always post to aristo, who always posts to ghost, who always posts to keith etc. etc. It worked well before although people have to commit to posting the books on, on or shortly after the start of the month, or it can go a bit pear-shaped.

[InsufficientlyCaffeinated]

Would you class the Sylvia Day (50 shades etc) series as cock-lit? Because I really don't want anything like that

[artifarti]

Agreed, no 50-shades-esque-cock-lit is added to the list

[RufusTheReindeer]

Oh i am sorry

I will do my best to explain

So chick (female/baby hen) lit to me is a term that would encompass light "female" reading so any book that has a title including words such as teashop, cupcake, or theme of girl meets boy in a cute way...girl loses said boy....reinvents herself/gets a career/ opens a fucking cupcake or teashop ....Girl gets boy back

Cock lit (male hen ) is light "male" reading so pointless plot that just enables the male hero to sleep with loads of women, run around a lot, and possibly shoot a gun

So both very light reads that you dont have to think about but leave you very unsatisfied , quite often very badly written

Dont get me wrong i like a bit of well written "light" reading as keith said

Its not willys !!!!!! Maybe i should say rooster lit, i am getting funny looks in Waterstones when i ask where the cock lit is

[RufusTheReindeer]

Plus no penis lit

We did the genre of fantasy for a book club one month and my friend managed to find vampire porn

[ghostoftheMNchicken]

With horror would creepy ghost stories (like Michelle Paver's Dark Matter for example) be okay? I like horror so it seems a shame to rule it out completely, but it's fair enough that blood and guts splattergore wouldn't be right for the group.

Agree with no misery memoirs or erotica.

Are we going to share the books we pick beforehand? Might avoid duplications.

[RufusTheReindeer]

ghost

I like horror as well, but as you say not the blodd and gore for the sake of it stuff

[BertrandRussell]

Chick Lit - Katie Fforde. Sophie Kinsella
Boy Book- Andy MacNab. Gerald Seymour.

Does that make it clear?

I'd like to join- I was in one before but it collapsed after about 6 months, not sure why. Might it be fun not actually to have any categories at all? I liked being forced to read some things I'd never tried before.

[KeithLeMonde]

Rufus

Thank you for the explanation :) Gutted now I cannot share my well-thumbed copy of "The Cute Little Beach Bakery for the Broken-Hearted" with you all.

[artifarti]

I would say yes to creepy ghost stories, and no to splattergore.

ghost - last time, people liked the surprise element of not knowing what was coming through the door. Everyone emailed me with their name and postal address*, plus the initials of their book (e.g. ROTN by TH if it was Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy) so I could check there were no duplicates. This does rely on people being imaginative with what they choose - hence the no bestsellers, recent prize-winners, Waterstone's 3 for 2s etc. It was rare that people had read one of the books before, though obviously it happened from time to time.

aristocat*, up this thread, did this with me for three years so can hopefully verify that I didn't set up eleven fake identities, reap the rewards and go and live in the Bahamas.

[RufusTheReindeer]

Thatnks bertrand

[RufusTheReindeer]

keith

Oh what a shame still rules is rules

[mailfuckoff]

do they have to be new books? I have many ex charity shop or well loved books that I would like to pass on - I appreciate you will never see them again but sharing a book is half the fun.

[mailfuckoff]

Also how do people feel about books aimed at young adult, some of them are pretty good and I'm a fully grown up person.

[BertrandRussell]

I would say definitely not new books.