So on Thursday night, I went to a fire-station, spent the evening with a bunch of complete strangers and gave away one of my favourite books in the world. It was BRILLIANT.
The Firestation bookswap in Windsor, which is where I was, is one of those nights which is almost impossible to describe unless you've been there.* It's a monthly event hosted by Scott Pack and Marie Phillips who share the stage with a couple of authors. They all have a bit of a chat, about books and writing and other stuff, and the authors answer random questions from the audience. (By random questions, by the way, I do really mean random. My favourite was "if you were a curry, what type would you be?").
Everyone takes along a book they don't want any more, and in between the author chat and the random questions there's the chance to pitch your book and swap it for something else. While all this is going on, there is lots and lots of cake being passed around. When I say lots and lots, I mean mountains. Almost literally.
All in all it's a mad, slightly chaotic affair, which is a whole lot of fun. I went along not knowing a soul, and came away with several actual books, lots of virtual books on my "must get around to reading that one day" list, and having chatted with lots of really warm and friendly people.
I took this to swap:
The Firestation bookswap in Windsor, which is where I was, is one of those nights which is almost impossible to describe unless you've been there.* It's a monthly event hosted by Scott Pack and Marie Phillips who share the stage with a couple of authors. They all have a bit of a chat, about books and writing and other stuff, and the authors answer random questions from the audience. (By random questions, by the way, I do really mean random. My favourite was "if you were a curry, what type would you be?").
Everyone takes along a book they don't want any more, and in between the author chat and the random questions there's the chance to pitch your book and swap it for something else. While all this is going on, there is lots and lots of cake being passed around. When I say lots and lots, I mean mountains. Almost literally.
All in all it's a mad, slightly chaotic affair, which is a whole lot of fun. I went along not knowing a soul, and came away with several actual books, lots of virtual books on my "must get around to reading that one day" list, and having chatted with lots of really warm and friendly people.
I took this to swap:
which is a book I loved (on a slightly irrelevant note, is that cover not one of the prettiest thing you have ever seen in your life?) and which briefly became the object of quite an exciting bidding war. This is the first time (and quite likely the last time, although one can always dream) I have been able to say this about a book of mine.
I also took some of these:
which I was particularly proud of, given I am currently in possession of a disco-inferno (burn, baby, burn) oven which only operates on two settings: 'off' and 'burn the crap out of everything'.
You don't have to take cake, by the way; it costs a fiver to get in but it's free if you take a home made cake. A fiver used to buy a bookswap ticket is a fiver well spent, in my opinion, but I'm a just-starting-out freelancer with limited cash flow and plenty of time. Of course I was going to make a cake.
If you like books, and cake, and really really nice people, the Firestation bookswap would be worth checking out sometime. Third Thursday of the month, at the Firestation Arts Centre in Windsor. Be prepared to eat lots of cake.
*Sorry, I know, I hate it when people say this kind of thing too. Drives me nuts. Maybe you should just go and see for yourself
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