A few days ago, I took a book I’d finished along with one of my own novels, to a ‘take a book, leave a book’ swap in Belfast. Such a book exchange is something that I wish more literary cafes or artsy establishments would do, as it’s such a great idea for encouraging reading.

One I picked and behind, two I left

Caedmon’s Song by Peter Robinson was a first for me by the author and an earlier one of his, apparently. I thought it was okay; you can read my review on Goodreads, though it has spoilers.

My review for ‘Caedmon’s Song’ is on Goodreads

Benefits of take a book, leave a book = money

As a reader who can’t resist book shopping, and admittedly spends more than my budget allows sometimes, book exchanges are a great way to swap books that I know I’m not going to read again, with ones I haven’t read; this satisfies my ‘book splurge urge’.

Benefits of take a book, leave a book = space

I don’t live in a sprawling mansion with its own library (maybe if I win the lottery). Our house really can’t accommodate all the books I’ve been buying over the past year. Lots of books are in boxes or crates, in fact, since we don’t have room for another book shelf at the moment. Exchanging books is a great way to keep reading without having to continually buy.

Take a book, leave a book for authors

Speaking now as an author rather than as a reader, it’s also a great chance to get copies of my own books out there. I have recently updated the cover of The Buddha’s Bone with the series info on the back, in preparation for the sequel, The Wabi-sabi Doll coming out on 15th September, so it was an opportunity to give away a copy I had with the old cover. You can see it next to Caedmon’s Song in the photo above.

Posted by on August 6, 2025 in Reading and tagged , , , , , .

1 Comment

Unknown's avatar

About Leilanie Stewart

Leilanie Stewart is an award-winning author and poet from Belfast, Northern Ireland. She writes ghost and psychological horror, as well as experimental poetry. Her writing confronts the nature of self; her novels feature main characters on a dark psychological journey who have a crisis and create a new sense of identity. She began writing for publication while working as an English teacher in Japan, a career pathway that has influenced themes in her writing. Her former career as an Archaeologist has also inspired her writing and she has incorporated elements of archaeology and mythology into both her fiction and poetry. In addition to promoting her own work, Leilanie runs Bindweed Anthologies, a creative writing publication with her writer husband, Joseph Robert. Aside from publishing pursuits, Leilanie enjoys spending time with her husband and their lively literary lad, a voracious reader of sea monster books.

One response »

  1. lyndhurstlaura's avatar lyndhurstlaura says:
    August 6, 2025 at 9:55 PM

    I need to find more of these book swap places, not too many near me. 😦

    Reply

Leave a comment