Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Free your unloved TBR books!

When you gather yourself to come to SCBWI Western Washington's Writing and Illustrating for Children Conference on Friday and/or Saturday, don't forget to bring new or quite gently read books to donate to either Eastside Baby Corner (books for readers up to age 12) or Teen Feed. Try these 5 easy steps:

1. Take a look at that to-be-read (TBR) stack... are you *really* going to get through all of those books, some of which may have been waiting a long time for your love and attention? Hint: If they're dusty, they secretly resent you.
2. Admit to yourself that this stack will be getting even higher, once you hear from our conference faculty and find yourself intrigued by their titles, too...
3. Oh, and remember that it's important to read books that have been ushered to life by editors and agents to get a good sense of their tastes prior to submitting to them... that might mean one or two more you'll want to buy.
4. Then soothe your conscious for those unloved TBR books by deciding to give them to readers who will adore them. (You can always check another copy out of the library later, right?)
5. Remember to bring those books for our donation boxes. (Blow the dust off first.) It's that simple!

The even-slightly battered residents of your TBR pile, of course, are like old dogs... they'll be more comfortable in the home they know and love, even if all they do is sleep. So leave those at home. If your whole TBR pile is old dogs, don't worry — Secret Garden Bookshop will be delighted to sell you a new book, one never yet suffering the indignity of the TBR pile, that you can donate instead. And we'll all live happily ever after!

See you soon!

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