Launched in Denver, there is a new society that sits in the top left corner of a literature alignment chart. The Denver Book Swap Society is truly lawful good—even if the events can be a bit of fun chaos.
Denver Book Swap Society founder Nicole Wiebe wasn’t really an avid reader until the pandemic. It was during that downtime, she says, that she learned to read for the pleasure of reading, not because it was required for a book club or an assignment for school.
She quickly became a voracious reader, but this presented a new problem, the lawful evil if you will. “I was struggling with the costs of books or long waitlists at the library,” she explains. In her book clubs, she tried to convince her co-readers to split a single copy and share or take turns on different books. “I didn’t want to pay to read a book once and then just have it sitting around, collecting dust or winding up in a landfill.”
As one does, Wiebe took to Facebook, tossing out the idea of a book swap in the park, just amongst friends. “This all started because I wanted to see if I could get free books from my friends,” she laughs. She brought a picnic blanket, set out some books, and encouraged friends to join with snacks and titles of their own. They had a great time, chatting and everyone walked away with something new to read.
Wiebe got what she wanted from her original book swap; what was clear to all of her friends was that everyone would want this. “They encouraged me to grow the book swap,” she remembers. So she started calling around to breweries, and immediately learned, that businesses were interested in hosting a special event like this. What was left to determine was if other readers out there shared their enthusiasm.
In the beginning, the events were slow and steady. Wiebe said there were a lot of faithful regulars, and she would often see some of the same copies of books float through more than one event—someone would pick it up at the beginning of the month and then bring it back at a following event to exchange for something new. The swaps were orchestrated as casual gatherings, with books organized on a few tables and a designated “start” time for the swap to begin. Once everyone left happy, with a new book and maybe a new friend, Wiebe would clean up the remaining books and distribute them to Little Free Libraries around the city.
A good thing catches on quickly! Denver Book Swap Society encourages reading, supports readers, brings together like-minded individuals, fosters friendship, feeds local businesses, is eco-friendly and reduces waste, and battles consumerism mentality—it is the best of the good, the lawful good.
Soon, Denver book swap events were averaging 75 people–or more. Wiebe would set up tables and people would be clambering for the start announcement. No actual fights over books, “but there was a little Black Friday energy,” she jokes about a recent event at the end of the summer that made clear: The Denver Book Swap Society had outgrown its original model.
“I had to take some time to figure out what to do,” Wiebe says. First, she required an RSVP for swaps; but she soon learned that RSVPs would fill up, creating a long waitlist, and then the turnout would be less than expected. “I would feel bad for people on the wait list who could have come after all.” Hoping to fairly reach the most amount of interested readers, Wiebe devised a ticket model.
“People had been encouraging me to charge for the events, and that seemed like the easiest way to manage it.” Wanting to be cognizant of that “lawful good” category, Wiebe used the ticket price only to gauge seriousness and get a head count of the breweries and other locations that needed to prepare for the event. “A $5 is still a great price for up to four books,” she says.
Occasionally, the Denver Book Swap Society will also partner with businesses besides breweries, a sort of two-for-one ticket. For example, coming up in October, a $10 ticket earns entrance into Book Swap and Pottery Painting at Glaze & Phase in Englewood.
Introducing RSVP caps and tickets hasn’t slowed the growth of the Denver Book Swap Society, and most recently, Wiebe has ventured into franchising her idea. There are now multiple Book Swap Societies around Colorado and branching into other states, all based on the original Denver Book Swap Society. Wiebe says she never imagined that her book party with friends could grow into such a concept, but that she’s happy to see it take off.
To learn more about upcoming events, visit the Denver Book Swap Society, and follow along on Instagram. If you’re interested in finding or opening a Book Swap Society chapter, learn more here.