The first 12 people at the event get a really sweet book tote with bookish swag! You will not get a confirmation email, and we won’t be checking a list at the door. This RSVP is just to help get a proper head count! Don’t forget to share and bring your friends (and their books)! For more details, scroll down this page!
event details
Location:
The Hanes House
750 Marguerite Dr.
Winston-Salem, NC 27106
Get Directions
Date & Time:
November 23, 2024
1:00 - 3:00 pm
accessibility notice: event space can only be accessed via staircase
How does the book swap work?
Bring up to 3 books you’d like to give away!
Bring ephemera (optional): If you have little bits, tickets, receipts, scraps, cards, ribbon, fabric, etc., that would make a sweet bookmark, come put them in the pile, and take some for yourself.
Place your books in their respective genre sections.
Take your time wandering through genres and reads. Chat people up if you’d like.
We’re leaning on the honor system! Be mindful of other swappers! At the end of the event, take as much as you’d like!
To see what sort of books are welcome and for more details, see below!
To Bring or
Not to Bring
what to bring:
#of Books
No more than 3 books.
Ephemera (optional)
I use everything under the sun as bookmarks, from movie tickets to extra copies of my passport photo, haha. If you have little bobs, cards, bits, scraps, a recipe card, ribbon, or string that mean something to you, bring them to put in our bookmark pile.
Mindfulness
Please be mindful of the volume you take home. Toward the end of the event, when we have excess, please take all you want!
Knowledge of your genres!
Come in ready to sort your book into the genre tables yourself. Not sure of your genre when you arrive? We can help!
Books you want other people to care about.
This event is neither a book sale nor a donation bank and exists in the spirit of friendship and community. If we all bring books we care about, the quality of the swap is more exciting!
please do not bring
More than 3 books.
No books with extensive damage, missing pages, musty/moldy, broken bindings, or chewed (by bugs, little rodents, babies, dogs, lol)
No dictionaries or thesauruses.
No periodicals: gossip rags, magazines, newspapers. etc.
No encyclopedias, annuals, or yearbooks.
No Reader Digest
No workbooks, journals, or study guides are filled in.
No textbooks.
No puzzles, games, or art.
Do not bring any other type of media that is not a bound book. No CDs, DVDs, movies, etc.
No outdated books (more than 3 years) on:
Tech
Medicine
Business
Finance
Travel guides
“For idiots” or “for dummies” books
q&a –
How many books should I bring?
No more than 3!
Do I have to bring books to attend/or take a book?
This is a swap event, so you are encouraged to bring at least one book. But you can attend whether or not you swap! However, please prioritize those bringing books to swap books first. We’re working on the honor system here, so please be mindful. Stay until the end of the event to snatch up all you want!
Is there a genre preference?
Just about anything is welcome! Self-development, manga, LGBTQ+ reads, children’s books, romance—from smutty to sweet lol—cookbooks, biographies, graphic novels, historical fiction, craft, animal books, sci-fi, art books, poetry—just about anything! Please see the “do not bring” above for a comprehensive list of what’s not allowed. Not sure if your genre is the right for the swap? Contact me directly at iam@hiaj.co or on Instagram @hiaj.
What if my books have a few dog ears, notes, or highlights?
Some people may like a book a bit lived-in. So bring it on! But if the notations will disrupt a reading experience, please don’t bring them.
What’s the vibe socially?
We’ll have board games, chill background music, and warm drinks! There’s no pressure to be super social. Read to yourself, play a game, swap-n-go, come and chat with bookish people, rifle through some ephemera, or take some swag home. Honor the ways you best care for yourself.
Are children welcome?
Oh, very yes!! We all need books now more than ever!
What happens to the books when the event is over?
After the event, the remaining books will be redistributed to Free Little Libraries around Winston-Salem. I’ll also take some to Central Library and save some for Bookmark’s Secondhand Story Sale (whose profits go right back into the reading community and programming), other literacy non-profits, and reading programs.
Your books will not go to resellers. Goodwill (and related mass donation banks) are the last possible resort. We do not want the books you care about to become landfill trash. I love books and want them to go to great homes. If you have a program you’d like us to donate to, contact me at iam@hiaj.co or on Instagram @hiaj!!