Written by: Madison LUPING-COWAN
Edit by: Ijin HAN
Hello fellow book-worms! As you know, book week is coming up, and one of the most exciting parts of book-week is the brilliant book swap!
For those of you who do not know what the book swap is, basically we bring a book from home into school to swap for the book of someone else in your class. REMEMBER, this swap is PERMANENT so be careful with the book you bring in. If someone chooses your book, it doesn’t mean you ‘must’ choose a book from that person. You can choose whichever book you like, as long as someone else has not already claimed it. The book you bring in, does need to be in good and readable condition. Only the person who actually ‘brought’ the book is allowed to take a new book, since book swap is meant to be ‘exchanging’.
Here are some tips to find the right book for you.
- Make sure that the book you bring in isn’t one you will want back, perhaps one that you have read so many times that it is no longer of interest to you.
- Really consider the kind of book you would like. Do you like adventure stories? Mystery? Fantasy?
- Perhaps have a quick skim through some of the books to see what they’re about.
- Find a book which suits your reading style. For example, if you are a fast reader, consider a longer and more descriptive book, whereas if you find reading more challenging, perhaps find a book that is in the same line with your understanding level.
- Decide on a wide range of potential book candidates, to keep your options open!
- Remember, choose your book based on what you will find interesting, not the book that your friend brought in, which is why it’s probably best not to know which books who brought in, as they might affect your final decision.
- Take your time and really consider the options, not picking up the first book you see but looking around and thinking about it.
- Now, when I say take your time, I don’t mean take all day, because by then all the books will have been taken, and might end up with the book you wanted the least.
- Try to create an internal list of all the books you might want, perhaps with one book at the top of your list being the one you want the most, taking into account everything about the book, good things, things you don’t really like about it etc.
- And finally, remember that if you are seriously stuck and can’t decide, pick the one you keep turning to, keep considering, the one that instantly caught your eye.
Happy swapping and reading!
