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Annual Book Donation Drive

  • Nov. 10th, 2008 at 10:39 AM
Christmas
For the past two years, I've asked my author friends if they'd be willing to mail an autographed book (or books) my way, to be donated to families at our local domestic violence shelter. For two years, I've discovered that my fellow authors are truly wonderful and generous people.

I'm doing this again, and plan to continue doing so until there's no longer any need. (I'm allowed to dream, aren't I?)

The families who will be receiving the books are people who have left their home, often with nothing more than they can carry. They're struggling to put their lives back together, and they're stuck in a strange place for the holidays. So not only would autographed books make a wonderful Christmas gift, but as we all know, books offer an escape from a very stressful time.

Due to confidentiality issues, I don't have the names of the people staying at the shelter, so these shouldn't be personally inscribed. Your generic John Hancock would be perfect. (Some books may also be auctioned off by the shelter to try to raise money. As you can imagine, social services are in a pretty ugly financial situation these days.)

In the past, I've also received some used books. Those are welcome, and can go into the shelter's library.

If you're willing to donate a book (or books), please e-mail me at jchines42 -at- hotmail.com, and I'll send you my mailing address. I'll try to post a list of everyone who donated. (So not only will you get good karma, but I'll say nice things about you here on LJ! Please let me know if you prefer not to be listed.)

I hope nobody will feel pressured or guilty about this. I've had financially tight holidays myself, back before the writing made me all big and famous and wealthy. Or maybe there are other causes you'd rather give to. Or maybe you just don't feel like participating. Whatever the reason, that's okay. This is meant to be a guilt-free request.

If you feel like linking to this entry or passing it along to your friends, please feel free. It's much appreciated.

And if you have questions or comments, please let me know. I'll update the entry as needed with any info I forgot to include.

Comments

( 29 comments — Leave a comment )
[info]fastfwd wrote:
Nov. 10th, 2008 03:45 pm (UTC)
Email me the mailing address and I'll send something.
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[info]jimhines wrote:
Nov. 10th, 2008 04:21 pm (UTC)
Sent, and thank you. Let me know if the e-mail doesn't come through.
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[info]emmyjag wrote:
Nov. 10th, 2008 03:50 pm (UTC)
As always, you rawk. I've already donated a bit to the cause *g*, and I don't write for anyone but myself, but if you pass along a link, I'd be willing to donate more money.

Also, my family traditionally adopts another family during the holidays and sends gifts, food, etc. I encourage your readers to do the same if they are able.
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[info]jimhines wrote:
Nov. 10th, 2008 06:15 pm (UTC)
True enough :-)

The NCADV donations link I used is at http://www.ncadv.org/donate.php
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[info]ashenseraph wrote:
Nov. 10th, 2008 03:53 pm (UTC)
I've emailed you for the address & also posted an announcement about this on The Harrow. Good luck!
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[info]jimhines wrote:
Nov. 10th, 2008 06:14 pm (UTC)
Responded to e-mail, and thank you for the repost at The Harrow!
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[info]kerinda wrote:
Nov. 10th, 2008 06:11 pm (UTC)
I have a bajillion used books (most are ARCs, so let me know if that would be a problem) that I could send for the library.

Let me know.
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[info]jimhines wrote:
Nov. 10th, 2008 06:14 pm (UTC)
That would be wonderful, and I promise they will be well appreciated. I imagine the shipping for a bajillion books might get a little steep, though. I recommend media rate.

Thank you! E-mail me for the address?
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[info]cissa wrote:
Nov. 11th, 2008 04:29 am (UTC)
I, also, have used books that I'd love to donate to someplace that can use them. Most of mine aren't ARCs, if that matters.

I am not an author, but a (voracious) reader. :)

Edited at 2008-11-11 04:30 am (UTC)
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[info]jimhines wrote:
Nov. 11th, 2008 02:01 pm (UTC)
ARCs or books, new or used, we should be able to find very appreciative homes for them all. E-mail me at jchines42 -at- hotmail.com?
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[info]desperance wrote:
Nov. 10th, 2008 06:40 pm (UTC)
Jim, I'd happily send books, but you talk about "families" in a way that makes me anxious; my books are famously not quite family reading. They're always edgy, sometimes demanding, sometimes kinda brutal.

If I'm misunderstanding, send yr mailing address to chaz at chazbrenchley dot co dot uk and books will follow. Otherwise, I'll just drop some money in the slot.
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[info]jimhines wrote:
Nov. 11th, 2008 02:13 pm (UTC)
I'm ... not sure. Let me check with the shelter to see if they have any restrictions or limitations on what they want. Thanks!
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[info]jpsorrow wrote:
Nov. 10th, 2008 09:35 pm (UTC)
Donated last year. Are the books put in a library (in which case it would be stupid to send books again this year) or given to people to take with them? If the latter, I'll send out another shipment.
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[info]jimhines wrote:
Nov. 11th, 2008 02:35 am (UTC)
Last year was actually a different shelter, so this one wouldn't have any of your books either way.

It's kind of funny. After two years, the shelter from last year said they had as many or more books than they needed, so I moved on to a larger one in Lansing :-)

Think we can fill their shelves too?
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[info]controuble wrote:
Nov. 10th, 2008 10:12 pm (UTC)
Ack - we are having a book collection for the USO at WindyCon, too. Our service people are always looking for something to read - used books welcome, but not too used, please.
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[info]fireun wrote:
Nov. 11th, 2008 12:10 am (UTC)
here by way of [info]jpsorrow
I have a small mountain of books i just brought back from a meeting, pretty much every genre of adult and YA fiction. I would be more than happy to send some along, as well as the odd ARC here and there. If you dont mind lightly used, there are always books around the house i can pass on. working in a bookstore for this long has me overrun with books.
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[info]jimhines wrote:
Nov. 11th, 2008 02:33 am (UTC)
I'll have to thank Joshua for sharing the link.

That would be wonderful, thank you! New or used, they'll be very much appreciated.

E-mail me for the mailing address? jchines42 -at- hotmail.com

And thanks!
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[info]__bac__ wrote:
Nov. 11th, 2008 04:04 am (UTC)
Hi Jim! I'm unable to send any books at this time, but I did want to help spread the word. I posted about your drive on my blog here: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog&pop=1&indicate=1

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[info]jimhines wrote:
Nov. 11th, 2008 02:00 pm (UTC)
Thank you! I appreciate you spreading the word.
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[info]cat_mcdougall wrote:
Nov. 11th, 2008 10:28 am (UTC)
I passed the link to this entry on to an author friend I know, who said she'd pass it on to others. I hope it helps!
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[info]jimhines wrote:
Nov. 11th, 2008 02:10 pm (UTC)
It does help, and thank you!
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(Anonymous) wrote:
Nov. 11th, 2008 12:41 pm (UTC)
And when that shelter is filled up, Jim, I know a Crisis Unit that could use books. :)

~GoGo
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[info]mikaela_l wrote:
Nov. 11th, 2008 02:27 pm (UTC)
I have a ton of books, or at least a bag, that I need to get rid of. I would love to donate them to you, but I wont. Why? Well, I live in Sweden, and I can't afford the shipping :(

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[info]jimhines wrote:
Nov. 11th, 2008 02:40 pm (UTC)
Completely understandable. Overseas shipping is painful...
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[info]jenniferestep wrote:
Nov. 11th, 2008 04:36 pm (UTC)
I'd be happy to donate some books and some bookmarks too. Please e-mail me the address.
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[info]jimhines wrote:
Nov. 11th, 2008 04:56 pm (UTC)
Done, via the e-mail address on your web site. Let me know if it doesn't come through.
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[info]_starlady_ wrote:
Nov. 11th, 2008 04:49 pm (UTC)
I emailed you for your address. I suppose I should have given you my lj name while I was at it. I'll repost your entry on my livejournal.

Peace,

Diane
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[info]jimhines wrote:
Nov. 11th, 2008 04:55 pm (UTC)
Got it and responded. Thanks!
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[info]rhondaparrish wrote:
Nov. 12th, 2008 08:59 pm (UTC)
I'd love to donate a copy of Lost Innocence, which is the only book I'm associated with that I have any physical copies of at the moment...however, it's a fantasy and horror collection so it's a wee bit on the violent side. Do you think that's appropriate or should I wait until I publish something more apropos?
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( 29 comments — Leave a comment )