We’ve all bought books that we’ve read once but never touched again. They’re lying on our bookshelves collecting dust while someone out there is searching high and low for them. What do you do? 
 

Meet ‘Book Swap – Colombo’, the perfect place for any book lover.  It all started in March 2014, where Chandrika Gadiewasam and daughter Nadeesha Pauline came up with an idea to find a place where people could exchange some books, make recommendations and meet some friends. At first, Chandrika attempted to kick-start this idea through a blog but then moved on to Facebook and created the page ‘Book Swap Colombo’ and soon, what started out with just 5 members, is now a community of over 1600 readers.  “Starting the Swap has been a lovely, exciting and enriching experience,” said Chandrika.

 

Nadeesha & Chandrika
 

So when, where and how?  Speaking to us, Nadeesha told us the A-Z of how the Book Swap works. The swaps have no fixed location. They’ve been at a food court, at Café on the 5th, Java Lounge and more.  Equally, there’s no fixed date. It occurs bi – monthly on a Friday between 5 to 8 pm and the date is announced 2 weeks prior on the Facebook page.  

The ‘how’ of it all is pretty simple.  On the day of the swap, there would be two massive containers of books where people are free to just pick a book (or several books) and take it home with them.  Whether it’s to exchange their borrowed book for a new one or sit around and chat, a session attracts at least 50 – 60 readers.  Those who lend their books but would want them back have the option of slipping in a chit with their phone number and name so that the borrowers could return them.  However, it is recommended that you don’t bring books that you are attached to because there is no proper tracking system. 

 

 

So can you only exchange books on Swap Day? Of course not! In fact, the members of the Facebook group often sort out ways to exchange the books on their own, if people are interested. The page is an active community of book lovers who enjoy sharing their love for reading. 
 

When speaking about the reaction from the members, Nadeesha exclaims “Oh! We have always had 100% positive feedback from everyone because people really like the idea of book swap and the fact that they get a lot of exposure to books. Plus it’s a great place to make friends!” 

 

 

“The Book Swap Club has been a wonderful experience - to read and exchange books, to meet new people who share the same interests, to relax on a Friday evening with like-minded souls,” says Himaja Wijenayake while Mervin Dirckze expressed that “this is the best thing that could have happened to us bookworms.”

What’s next? Nadeesha expressed her ideas to expand, and maybe even introduce a mobile library. “We want to go with the flow and try to keep the happy, hippie vibe going,” she says.  
 

For the bookworms out there, Book Swap – Colombo is the place to be. Exchange some books and make some friends by joining the community on Facebook at www.facebook.com/groups/colombobook