On The Funway

The bookshelves in the Toy Room yielded another 106 books, mostly paperbacks. I fiercely culled my hardcovers during my move east 8 years ago; there were weight costs for the move and volume costs for the months of storage between selling Toad Hall and buying Toad Woods. I culled paperbacks, too, but with considerable leniency.

Hmmm. 662 + 106. There I was at 768 books. You know where this is going, right?

Yep. There were 5 more books on those shelves I could part with.

Total books for the Science Fiction Outreach Project in my car = 773

In the back seat.

Yes, there's room for more. I bet I could fit another 50-100 books spread across the box tops without losing sight lines. Maybe more. Given my car, probably more. Plus tuck places in the hatch area after I load luggage and kipple in.

Hmmm...southern route. Maybe I'll stop at Fanhihall and see if Joe has any he can part with....

I love my car.

MCFI's book drive from the Science Fiction Outreach Project has just passed 400 books and we're looking for more! Progress as of March 15th:

In my car:
-- 245 books donated by Ben Yalow
-- 33 books donated at the NESFA Clubhouse, including 17 from Tony & Suford Lewis
-- 28 books donated by Mark & Priscilla Olson

At Toad Woods:
-- 33 books culled from upstairs shelves
-- 66 paperbacks culled from shelves in the Toy Room

At the NESFA Clubhouse:
-- 5 books in the SF Outreach donation box

Already in Chicago:
-- 4-6 shopping bags of books from Neil Rest

Current total: 410 books + Neil's donation

The Prediction Poll remains open. C'mon over and see me demonstrate how I don't know the difference between a circle and a square.

More Book Drives and drop off points
Susan de Guardiola is organizing a SFOP book drive down at Lunacon this weekend. If you're going to Lunacon, you can drop off adult, YA, and kids science fiction and fantasy books there. Novels, short stories, anthologies -- all are welcome! As before, fans can also donate books at the NESFA Clubhouse, and at the NESFA Other Meeting at the Hertels on Sunday, March 25.

Joel Phillips announced there will be a SFOP book drive at Minicon on Easter Weekend. Donated books will be heading to Chicago from all directions!

Donating Books by Mail
If you're not able to bring books to Lunacon, the NESFA Clubhouse, the NESFA Other Meeting, or Minicon, you can still participate in the SFOP Book Drive by sending books to:

Chicon 7
Attn: Science Fiction Outreach Project
P.O. Box 13
Skokie, IL 60076

SFOP recommends sending them via USPS Media Mail.

Please send books by Saturday, March 31 to assure they arrive in Chicago in time for C2E2.

The Science Fiction Outreach Project looks forward to giving away the donated books to readers at the Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo next month, and to chatting up fandom and conventions in the process!

Need more room on your bookshelves? Want to help attract science fiction & fantasy readers to fannish activities such as Worldcon and also other cons, gatherings, and clubs?

The Science Fiction Outreach Project (SFOP) will put your extra genre books to good use, giving them away to readers next month at C2E2, the Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo. Each book will have a bookmark promoting Worldcon, local conventions, and the groups sponsoring the outreach project.

MCFI is one of those sponsors, giving SFOP a donation and running a book drive. We're collecting books at the NESFA Clubhouse through Wednesday, March 21st and also at the NESFA Other Meeting at the Hertels on Sunday, March 25th. Books donated to the project can be the lure for new fans!

SFOP's primary sponsor this year is Chicon 7. You are actually donating the books to them, and they are a 501(c)(3) corporation.

( How to donate books in person, by mail, and other 4-part harmony )

More About the Science Fiction Outreach Project
Last year, SFOP was at Wondercon in San Francisco, where they gave away some 6,000 books they'd collected from fans, clubs, publishers, and more. Reports in File 700 and on the SFSFC website. Plus photos of the booth at Wondercon and other parts of the huckster's room by magscanner.

The Wondercon SF Outreach was sponsored by RCFI/Renovation, Chicon 7, London in 2014, CanSMOF, SFSFC, LASFS, MCFI, NESFA, and SCIFI as well as a private donor. Seven conventions hosted book drives. Similar efforts are underway this year: there was a book drive at Capricon and there will be one at Minicon, too.

You don't have to be a member of Facebook to see what Science Fiction Outreach Project – USA is posting there.

If you have additional questions, please contact me. Thanks! I look forward to seeing just how many books will fit in my car....

Edited to correct WonderCon photo credit to magscanner.