We’ve all been stuck to a reading rut. I, for one, have attempted to read Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life three times already, but I always fail to finish it. To begin with, I blame my reading pace. The only time I have for leisure reading is when I’m in transit, which leads me to the second reason. A Little Life, although written beautifully, deals with heavy themes like abuse and loneliness. I can’t flip through the book without feeling tired—plus, the train could get pretty packed. So, I dropped the book and picked up Zadie Smith’s Swing Time and Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous.

My now dusty copy of A Little Life sits on my bookshelf. Along with more than 20 books, the novel takes up prime space that could have been cute and empty. Will I read them? We’ll never know.

Meanwhile, Scout graphic designer Renz Mart Reyes has been giving away books he no longer plans to read. He says it’s a waste to keep these books when a new owner could learn from them. Aside from that, he believes he has outgrown the themes of those books. That’s one way to clean a shelf and also the self. But not everyone can let go of their books.

Well, if the goal is to purge your bookshelf and introduce new titles, a book swap might be the right thing for you. And if you’re having a hard time looking for a “swapmate,” Bellas Artes Projects is holding a community book swap event called Bookay-(B)Ukay at Bellas Artes Outpost in Makati.

Scheduled on Aug. 31 at 2 p.m., Bellas Artes encourages curious bookworms to bring up to two books for swapping with fellow book lovers. The non-profit arts foundation hasn’t revealed the book swap mechanics yet, but it sure does look exciting. Aside from the swap, participants may also purchase books from independent book stores Artbooks.ph, Books from the Underground, and Kwago Book Bar. But you don’t have to shed money or swap books to enjoy the event, you can also just drop by and browse through Bellas Artes’ selection of art books. Or you can just join open mic poetry group Ang Sabi Nila in a poetry workshop and readings at 4:30 in the afternoon. That’s not bad at all, right?

For more information, check out their event page on Facebook.

Art by Aira Ydette

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