Welcome, lovelies, to the Stranded! Book Swap.

Why "stranded"? Because you're now officially stranded on a desert island. (Or it can be a rich, cold evergreen island, if that's your thing.) You don't know how you ended up here, but you are alone. With one thing: a box! A box someone magically prepared for you so your stay on this lonely island won't be so boring. It's full of so many goodies! Just you wait and see!

So here's how this goes. Grim and I have a list of things we think your box needs. You complete the list, pop the swap in the mail, and then, just like I said, YOUR box will appear soon enough. The things this swap box needs are as follows:

1. If you were stranded, you could only read one genre or author. Pick a book from that category. (Or 2 or 3. It's a long stay on this island, after all.)

2. A travel item. Something handy, like a toothbrush. Morning breath after living on coconuts is awful. Or a flashlight. To read by at night, of course!

3. A survival item. I always think Swiss Army knife, but there are lots of other things. Waterproof matches. Warm mittens. Or go the book-nerd survival route and include a book light, or bookmarks or little post-it's to mark lines you want to remember. This item can really be up to interpretation.

4. If you're stranded, you're only allowed one food. Your magical benefactor included something for you that they know you can't live without. My favorite is potatoes. They're the greatest thing ever. What would yours be?

5. A note to your partner to let them know why you chose what you did. If you want to, make up a scenario of how they ended up stranded!

That's it! Anything else is just a bonus.

The budget is our usual $20. Used books are fine. We encourage people to not stress their finances over this. It's coming up on the holidays, and we understand people can be really strapped.

Sign-ups are November 1st thru the 14th. Partner info will be emailed out November 15th. Boxes need to be mailed by December 10th. That's an extra-long time because, again, the holidays. Just DM me or Grim with your tracking. If you need an extension, as always, just say so. :)

SIGN UP: HERE!

We look forward to seeing how all of you fair on your island getaway! I know I could use a vacation. Have fun! Be creative! And thanks for entering!

Thanks so much for taking charge of this.

Entered, hope others do. I'll see if Jessica jumps on this, too, but she may not.

I really love hosting these. I get to be creative. My husband read this swap post and said "damn, this make me wanna join." Lol Hopefully we get entries.

Reply to post #3 (show post):
It wouldn't have happened without you: I just don't have the time or energy. I 'm bouncing between morbid and cheerful and it's weird for me. I didn't oversleep like crazy this time, though.

Anyway, tell your hubby to sign up. I think since we're running it and he's your hubby, it's gonna be fairly easy to track him down if he slacks, and it'll make you both happy. As far as I'm concerned, he could get a BL account and never use it again. Although if he likes the box he gets, he just might.

Also, aw, tell him that's sweet. I take it as a compliment, since, yes, taking credit for the general idea...

Also-also my entry could have been so much weirder if I included the 'no Ireland-Britian stuff in the box, please.' But I didn't want to delve into those hotspots of anti-semitism. (Keeping in mind, of course, that many Brits and Irelanders are lovely. I suspect it's very much they're governments that are mostly gross.)

This sounds super fun. I need a distraction from my stress lately.

Reply to post #5 (show post):
Then join us! I haven't checked the sign-ups yet, but it seems we are running lower than usual. And I really think this is such a fun idea.

Reply to post #6 (show post):
I did sign up

Reply to post #7 (show post):
I really need to check our sign-ups.

There are 4 of us so far! So Grim, we aren't just swapping with one another! Lol

Oh, I'm in! I'll go sign up now!

Reply to post #10 (show post):
Yaaaaay.

Just a quick reminder that tomorrow entries close, so if you haven't signed up, do so. :)

I should be good; double checked and it says I can't fill out the form twice. If you need help, holler at me, but I can't access the answers so you might have to really take the reins on this one.

Hope we got a good turnout this time!

Emails have been sent.

I have so many ideas.

Thanks again, Mallory!