What to do with old paperback books? (Donate somewhere?)

[Winston Smith]

I just don't have the heart to throw books in the rubbish. I thought burning them might be cool, in a twisted sort of way (just a bunch of Grisham and the like). I suppose I could sell them to the used book store for 5¢ apiece or something, but there's got to be a better way. There are a hundred or so, all my late father-in-law's. I've picked out the decent stuff - a few hardcovers and a handfull of p-backs that look interesting.

Thoughts? Anyone?

[WhyNot]

Try the hospitals in your area. The library doesn't want 'em, I'm sure, not if they're paperbacks (it'd cost them more to put library bindings on than they're worth, unless there's some rare find in there). But hospitals and nursing homes might like some fresh donations for their book carts.

[silenus]

Find a VA hospital. They are always looking for stuff like that. Or any other hospital or nursing home.


Burning books is a Sin, no matter what they are.

[Muffin]

Write "Please read me" on a yellow sticky, stick it on a book, and leave the book in a public place.

[XJETGIRLX]

You could try BookCrossing if you want to trade, or like someone else said just leave them in a public place.

Do you have a break room at work? Or your doctor's office? Or your favorite coffee shop/hangout? Bring a batch with you next time you go and let someone working there know that you're leaving them for people to enjoy.

[Kalhoun]

The Salvation Army sells books for 10 cent apiece or something. They like to get them. Same with VA hospitals, to my knowledge. You could also get involved in a book swap with your friends. It's a great way to spread the wealth.

[Boscibo]

Paperbackswap.com is a good place if you'd like to trade them for books you haven't read. You have to pay shipping (a couple bucks by media mail) to the person who requests it, but then you get a credit to choose a book you'd like and it is shipped to you at the sender's expense. You don't have to choose only from the person who you shipped the book to; credits are good for any book in the system. You can even save up credits to get audiobooks. It was a better deal before postage went up, but I still think it is worth it if you read many paperbacks.

[Julie]

Goodwill and St. Vincent de Paul Societies both take books.

If all else fails, put them in with your paper recycling.

[SmartAleq]

Donate them to your local county jail or other correctional facility. Inmates read a LOT!

[BetsQ]

The library doesn't want 'em, I'm sure, not if they're paperbacks (it'd cost them more to put library bindings on than they're worth, unless there's some rare find in there).

Our library actually takes pretty much anything, but not to put in the stacks. They do some fundraising through a used book shop.

[Giles]

Our library actually takes pretty much anything, but not to put in the stacks. They do some fundraising through a used book shop.

That's fairly common. Public libraries accept book donations, but most donations are sold to raise money by the Friends of the Library, or a similar organisation.

[danceswithcats]

Something suggested at previous Dopefests was to bring unwanted books, music, and movies and have a swap session. I donated the leftovers to a local second hand bookstore with an outdoor table.

ETA: Thread was moved here to merge with another thread started by Julie, but in the process, her single post thread went to the land of lost left sox. She's been PMed and asked to repost here. Apologies to all.

[Julie]

Would anyone be interested in trying to do some sort of 'Bohemian/Domoeba book/cd/dvd swap?

[parenchyma]

A friend of mine works with a charity that helps local kids in trouble get work skills by cataloguing and selling used books on Ebay and on Moody Street in Waltham. She has helped with a lot of non-profits and really likes this one.

I think you'd have to bring them over to Waltham yourself. Here's the info:
http://www.mtwyouth.org/

[Winston Smith]

Wow! Thanks for all the great ideas!

...and Waltham is just down the road from my office. Hmm...

[parenchyma]

I just talked to my friend about More Than Words and she said mass-market paperbacks are the one category they might NOT take, because they can sometimes cost more to process than they can get for them. So maybe it's not worth the trip to Waltham. Or you could call them and check if they can get anything for your particular titles.

I felt happy donating some technical books that were probably worth a bit on Ebay.