The Challenge Within the 75 Books Challenge

Cheli mentioned this on my thread and I think it is just a terrific idea:

Why don't we set a goal of shipping 75 books this year as a group as well as reading 75 books? We could even setup a catalog to show what what we've shipped. There are 700+ members in this group alone, so if we all sent just one book, that would be over 700 that our troops would have. We could setup an account and everyone add to it as they ship their book. Do you think that Tim would give the troops a free membership? I think he would. For Operation Paperback, they give you the info of where to send it.

What I suggest is that we use this thread (rather than setting up a separate account) to list the books that we send to the troops (or just tell how many) and see if we can, by the end of the year, meet Cheli's proposed 75 books goal.

Operation Paperback's website is here: http://www.operationpaperback.org/

Books for Soldiers website is here:
http://www.booksforsoldiers.com/

(Thanks, Kath, for providing the information on groups sending books to the troops!)

I have set up my own account on Operation Paperback and will be going through my library this week to see what I can send.

I am excited about this and think it is a terrific idea.

Thanks for the links, Stasia and for the idea, Kath. I'm going to look into setting up an account with Operation Paperback as well.

Done! Over 250 so far this year. Some call it sending reading material to the troops. I call it making shelf space.

Btw, joking aside, local libraries often have programs to do this, also. Our library aggregates donations and then sends them off in bulk. We can drop off a stack of books plus $5 and they parcel them out to various units. I use that system for hardbacks since there are restrictions on shipping them.

#5: We cannot count you then, Tad, because we would be finished before we have begun!

Good going though for sending out so many already this year :)

>7: You can count on me. I would just count those sent from now on.

Sending just one book is a little inefficient in terms of postage...not sure if that matters. I guess people can choose which way they want to go.

Using this thread to record them is a good starting point. However, I liked your idea of an account if we start to get some real volume. Unfortunately, you can't have multiple people owning an account. We'd need one person to act as scribe and record the books...perhaps with the date sent as the Date Read and the sender's userid as a tag. Something to think about if we hit the 75.

#8: The idea of the account is Cheli's not mine. I like to give credit where credit is due.

I had planned to send at least 5-10 in the first shipment from me.

The problem I see with having an account is that the possibility exists of 75ers sending the same title to multiple people. I guess we could always use multiple IDs as tags?

This is a great idea. I've shipped packages to the troops before and know that you need to send to a specific person but it looks like they've provided for that requirement.

I've signed up for Operation Paperback. For the next few weeks, my book donations will continue to go to our local Friends but, after that, I will try to put together a box for the troops.

I contacted Tim and he was behind us all the way. Tim was interested in more info so that he could put in the blog, so I gave him the link for Operatiion paperback.

I was thinking that an account we could track the number books but also with tags who sent the book and where.

But there is also the option of a separate wiki page to track the contributions. I would just like to do something that tells the troops that we're behind them and support them while they are so far from home.

eta: I signed up for Operation Paperback.

Count me in. Signed up for Operation Paperback right now. What a win/win situation.

I will be shipping out my first box of books next week. Hopefully this will be just the first of many!

What a fabulous idea, Stasia and Cheli!

I just joined Operation Paperback. I'm interested in participating in the "special requests".

I like the idea of the wiki to record the number of books, their titles, and who shipped them. If we use a wiki to keep track of shipments, everyone could input his own information, the information would stay up-to-date, each person could individualize his own shipments, and the books could simply be counted as they are listed (using the hash tags).

If we reach 75 too fast, we could simply create a new wiki for each lot of 75. We could do this for 75 years!! (...but preferably would not like to have wars or unstable political situations for that period of time).

ETA: If you'd like to track your books, consider registering them at Bookcrossing.

I think a wiki would be good, but one small problem, I still can't figure out how to start a new title page.

1. At the bottom of this page, click on "wikithing".
2. On the green column to the left, click on "Your WikiThing page".

That takes you to your own wiki space (your user page). From there you can begin to create more pages.

A new page is a "wikilink" and is created by clicking "edit". Then type two left square brackets, the title of the page, and two right square brackets. Click "save". You'll see that the text is red. When you click on the red text, that will become your new page.

More help is here:
http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/Help:Editing

Thanks, Madeline, I finally got it.

The new wiki is Here.

Yay, Cheli! It looks great!!

One question, since Tim is going to be blogging this, is this a special event for 75-ers or will it be for LT members in general?

If it's for the general membership, be sure to *email* Tim the link to your wiki. When I met Tim recently, he'd never even heard of the TIOLI, so keep him well versed and up to date on what you want him to know and/or make public.

Personally, I would want to open it up to everyone here at LT. The more books we can send to the troops the better.

But I can understand if we want to keep it to the 75ers. After all, the goal is 75 books by the end of 2010, but with the help of everyone, who knows, maybe we could do 750!

The challenge could be 750 books from LT with at least 75 from the 75-ers! :)

Personally, I think that anything we can do to make LT more interactive and useful to others is simply great!!

I.Am.So.Excited!

Signing up for Operation Paperback and going through the book shelves!

I definitely plant to do this! It's a great program.

However, I think I'm going to wait until my son is back in school -- it will be much easier to sort books (and keep them sorted) then (and to generally get anything done. . . ;)

I'm all signed up. Now collecting books. I think I'm going to send out a general request to friends as well. This really is fun. I like the comment about no romance novels. Makes sense - but is also amusing. I picture all these people off loading "bodice rippers" given to them or picked up in a rush in an airport...

So just to be clear (I'm a bit fuzzy so the lack of clarity is probably just in my brain!)

We are doing this as a group.
It's open to all LT
We are keeping a list of what's sent and it's on a wiki page (?)
And the link is ?

thx and sorry for not getting it!

It's my guess that Tim is going to blog it, refer us to the wiki, and then we'll all jump in. Is that what's going to happen, Cheli and Stasia?

Tim may need a nudge at some point. :)

I will contact Tim again.

I'm with suslyn (#26) I'd love a sort of guide or something on how to make sure this group gets the credit for the shipments.

I have the wiki ready, and here's the link. If anyone already has books ready to go, don;'t wait for Tim and the blog, let's get them sent!

http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/Operation_Paperback

I am so excited about this! It's a great idea, and I love the idea of helping. I'm going to write up a blog post and send it out yet this afternoon.

Is there anything else you need for this? Have you decided that the wiki is sufficient?

So far, I think the wiki will handle it for us.
I've sent off a note to Andrea at Operation Paperback to see how we handle a large shipment, I have nearly 20 books already and would love to get them going by Labor Day. We are excited to have everyone at LT join us in the project. We are hoping to send at least 75 books this year, but if everyone joins in, we could do 10 times that amount!

Thanks for your help!

FYI- for the group, I'm planning on tagging the books that I'm donating from my collections with an OP tag as well as moving them to a DONATED collection. If we all tag it the same, we can watch OP grow in the Tag cloud!

good idea cheli..
I am going to wait for the blog post..

#32: Cheli, would you post Andrea's answer? I have at least 20 ready to go too.

Edited for punctuation

Most defnitely, Stasia.

Thanks!

I just found this. What a great idea, Cheli and Stas! I'll go through my shelves this weekend and put a box together. I like the idea of tagging the ones I'll donate with the OP tag as well.

Do be sure to read the OP guidelines. I think there was something about a minimum quantity of books sent and also sending books of a particular type together.

I would need to re-read their rules before sending but I'm saving up my mysteries to bundle them off.

Also, there was something in there about complying with overseas shipping rules, that is, I think there's something about needing to state the contents.

Linda, I've shipped books overseas and all you need to do is, depending on the size of the box, you would fill in one of 2 declaration forms at the post office. You don't need to list each individual book ,but you can declare the contents as 'books' and that will be acceptable. You also need to put some sort of a value to the books you're shipping... but since they are used books, you can put a low value .. it's more for insurance purposes.

I re-read the rules. YOu don't have to limit to one genre but do need to check off what genres are included. As someone said, no romances.

People typically send 10 to 20 books at a time, though I don't think that's a requirement.

On the customs form, write down "used books" and be sure to say it's a gift.

Also, it stresses how much cheaper it is to send via media mail. Sending it priority won't get it there any faster.

I found a lot of useful information in their FAQ. It explains nicely about how media rate works, how sometimes postal workers don't know that APO/FPO addresses aren't charged international shipping, and that even though you're paying US rates, you still have to fill out the customs form.

Once I get more info from Andrea at Operation Paperback, I'll put it here and on the Wiki.

I'd love to be able to drop off my first load at the Post Office on Saturday but hopefully, next week at the latest. I have ladies at the Beauty salon where I get my nails done collecting books too. Spread the word!

I have donated before from my library and already have an account there too.So count me in! I also have a great patron who has offered to pay for any shipping for Operation Paperback Packages.
I will let everyone know when I have sent some books.

I hope I get someone who wants history books....

I have about 20 ready to go so far as well! It's fun, and liberating as well - clearing out piles of books! Who knew I could let go of books!

Just a reminder for everyone that we want to track which books are being sent so there is a wiki page to add the books you are donating.

Here's the link http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/Operation_Paperback

I'm happy to see there is a blog post! :)

yeah, now we'll have everyone from LT helping to send books to the troops!

47>>Jenn, I didn't think that I would be able to let go of books either, but sending them to the troops is like giving them to a friend that can't get to the bookstore -- you don't want them to be without a book and you've got extra. Besides it makes more room on the shelves for more books!

FYI - I was just tagging my first shipment and found someone else is already using tag OP so I suggest we use either LTOP or OP75, what does everyone think?

Either one is fine with me.

#51 - So true. That has made it very easy to share my books (:

LTOP or OP75 - either one works for me too.

Well, I think that since we've opened it up to all of LT let's use the tag LTOP.

I was thinking of volunteering for OP over the summer, and this was the final push I needed. Thanks for getting this going everyone!

Okay, everyone, I got an answer from Andrea at Operation Paperback.

Normal shipments are considered up to 25 books, they usually classify large shipments as more than 40 books in a single box. So just follow the instructions at Operation Paperback to get your ship to name and let's get started!

Opinions???

I have a copy of Girl With A Dragon Tattoo I was thinking I'd send. The check list says "no sexually explicit material" and I was not sure... for me, yes a bit explicit in terms of sexual violence. What do you think?

Edited to say that I just posted my list of books to the wiki. I'm not totally sure what I'm doing, but it looks like it worked out!

#58 I think Dragon Tattoo would be OK if they've asked for thrillers or best sellers. The sex scenes are really incidental to the overall book.

Nitt - I made a few changes so that we can keep a running total of how many books have been sent. Since you were first you get the star!

I'm guessing sex scenes are 'banned because, well, remember, these are young men and they've been cooped up for a long time. I don't think it matters if the sex scene isn't important to the overall story, it would still probably be...frustarting for someone in their situation. *shrug* Maybe you should hold off on that one?

Wow Cheli, That is is STAR.
Thanks (:

Thanks for input - even if it's opposing. I'm leaning towards what Stephen says.

swell idea!
but maybe I've messed up already... I asked my coworkers to help - one of them has given me tons of books so we have a box of 22 sci-fi/fantasy books to ship out tomorrow already! But, I didn't keep a list of the books' names, sorry.
I'm just going to try to show 22 books on the wiki and if someone wants to edit my entry to make it look better, please do!
Thanks for setting this up!

Hey, everyone, we're more than halfway to our 75 books for the troops!

We're at 40 and counting - I have a bag of 25 but am supposed to be picking up some more from my book group at the Country club so with just a few more we'll be at the First 75!

Awesome!

I sent out 3 books of biographies and historical fiction and 25 sports magazines today. Feels good to be helping.

Managed to get another trip to the post office this evening before they closed and sent off 6 thrillers and mysteries.

I was just looking at the wiki and there were some great books on the list. I'm a little jealous.

Does anyone know how to get a ticker on the wiki? I tried but it didn't like the HTML. Do we have to use something else?

Could you upload it to the wiki as an image file (as that's what it really is)?

I'll get to the wiki when I can, but I sent 24 books to two different recipients today.

Richard, with your 24 books , we're nearly to our goal of 75! As soon as I get the rest of the ones from my ladies Golf group tomorrow, box them up and send them off, we'll have hit the mark in our first month!

Post your titles up on the wiki, Ricardo ... I'm curious to see what you sent away.

I sent 11 books to a serviceman suggested by Operation Paperback, but I don't know how to put them on wiki. *frowning*

No, not gonna monkey with the wiki. Too much trouble.

To one Daniel Orr:

Standing at Armageddon
A World Lit Only by Fire
Divide and Perish: The Geopolitics of the Middle East
Birds of Prey
The Fighting Agents
The First Salute
Chasing Goldman Sachs
The Coffee Trader
The Whiskey Rebels
The Ghost Map
The Praise Singer
The Bridal Wreath

To one Joshua LaMere:

Desire Street: A True Story of Death and Deliverance in New Orleans
The Blue Zone
Act of Revenge
Echo Park
The Poet
Airframe
Through the Cracks
Choosers of the Slain
For the President's Eyes Only
Austin City Blue
The Murderers' Club
The Man from Greek and Roman
Native Tongue

>74 Wait! That's 25, not 24 books shipped. I can't count.

I added them to the wiki for you, Richard.

We are now at 74!

I have nearly 40 ready to be boxed up so we are starting on the second 75!

>76 Thanks, Cheli. Cannot believe it's in a second 75 already!

>76 Gee, don't my 11 books count toward the challenge?

I've been reviewing all the books I've sent out via Operation Paperback in my Books off the Shelf thread. Inching up there! Come by and read a few.

78>> Velma,

We want to count your books but they're not on the wiki!

78: Maybe if you list the books you sent here someone will add them for you?

62 listed plus 22 I didn't know to keep titles for = 84 in the wiki!

Every time I'm ready to pack up, someone brings me more books. I have about 50+ ready to go and I'm going to mail them this week, I swear!

Hi,

Thanks for implementing such a wonderful idea to help our troops! I tried to submit my donations on the other page but couldn't figure out how, so thought I'd post it here. 11 books so far.

Timeline
Stones from the River
Midnight Champagne
Consider Phlebas
Good Faith
Foundation
Second Foundation
Foundation and Empire
Little Earthquakes
Black and Blue
2001 a space odyssey

By the way if anyone's looking for an easy way to get more books to send, I discovered the joy of library book sales-- paperbacks for twenty-five or fifty cents! A great way to stock up on books for the troops.

I sent 6 books and listed them on the wiki. (and my hubby added 16 automotive magazines b/c the servicemember specifically requested them) :) It's not much but it felt good to help in a small way. Thanks for spreading the info about OP on LT, and letting non-members of your group get involved. I may hit some book sales/secondhnd shops and do this again in a few months.

I have another box of books and one being dropped off at some point. I posted a note to my community group and have had several boxes donated for me to send. I have had to do some culling of the odd romance novel. However, the last box donated had Dracula, Pride and Prejudice, Gone with the Wind, and some Clive Cussler. Great combination, no?
When I get the other box, I will sort and send out another shipment, and post them here, of course.

Ok, barely computer literate, that's my middle name. After numerous tries I still can't post to wiki, but here's the list of what I've sent.

Mailed to Joshua on 8-26-2010
1. The Six Sacred Stones
2. Playing for the Ashes
3. A Great Deliverance
4. Shadowspawn
5. A Place of Hiding
6. Missing Joseph
7. For the Sake of Elena
8. In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner
9. In the Presence of the Enemy
10. Deception on His Mind
11. What Came Before He Shot Her

Mailed to Jose on 9-01-2010
1. Lost Horizon
2. The Rule of Four
3. A Superior Death
4. Pride and Predator
5. The Novice's Tale
6. The Two Towers
7. The Fellowship of the Ring
8. Ashworth Hall
9. A Plague on Both Your Houses
10. Fools Rush In
Plus 2 more that I can't remember

What's important is that the books are going where they can be enjoyed by others whether they get counted in the grand total of the challenge or not.

YOU ALL ARE DOING GREAT!

I've added all the books to the wiki for those that were having problems so our count at present is 124!

I have a big box ready to go. I am going to go post the list of books to the wiki. I may divide this into two boxes.
I had a couple of very nice people in my community donate boxes of books and then today I cleaned out my garage and found a box of paperbacks. I decided since they have been in the garage about 2 years without me even remembering them, I no longer need them and can pass them on. (:

We're almost at 200!
I'm going to kill my hubby if he doesn't bring those boxes to me soon - I have over 50 ready to go.

Cyderry! Don't kill him or you will never get the boxes. *lol*

Velma's right, Cheli, there's a law of diminishing returns about killing husbands, not to mention the plain old law frowns mightily on it. Too many women start doin' it, they'll all get uppity, y'know.

But have any of you read Roald Dahl's short story Lamb to the Slaughter? Poetic justice in the area of husband killing...not of course for minor offenses like forgetting boxes.

Finally, BOXES!

Now I can spend the weekend getting the labels done and everything packed up.

Finally mailed my third box today. This is fun!

Wow, Jenn! You are doing great!

Today I'm working on the labels for nearly 60 books so that hubby can tape up the boxes after football.

I did my part, I had the boxes all ready and he put them in the car over the weekend and they are still sitting there! UGH! Then last night a friend brought over 3 boxes - nearly another 100 to be labeled! When all is said and done (if he doesn't drop them at the PO soon, I'm taking away the remote control!) we'll be over 300!

Wow! That is lots of books. I'm wondering if the back of the car is bottoming out? :)

Why are the labels needed? I plumb forgot to label the books I sent. I hope those lads get them anyway.

I don't know why they all have to have a label, just that's the way they do it. It's no big deal, I put the label on as I count the books and put them in the box, but since these were already boxed up I have to unload and reload. But nothings to much for our troops, right gang?

I got a list of the special requests for October so if anyone can help with these (they give a name) let me know and I'll give you the info.

Special Authors
books by Melanie Rawn, Frank Herbert and Brian Herbert.
books by Raymond Feist.
books by Cormac McCarthy and Stephen King
books by Stephen Hunter and Robert Jordan
books by James Rollins and Ted Dekker
books in the Stone Barrington series by Stuart Woods
books by RA Salvatore and Mercedes Lackey.

Special Interests
1. books about war, and especially about the current war; also cars and trucks, fishing and hunting.
2. Star Wars novels.
3. books having to do with: business, biographies, travel, cooking, music
4. Chicano literature (such as "Rain of Gold" and "Esperanza Rising.")
5. firearms
6. Christian fiction
7. dictionaries to help units communicate with the multinational forces with whom they are serving. The languages they are looking for are: English to German, Norwegian, Croatian, Hungarian, Dari, Pashto, Swedish, and Finnish
8. Science Fiction, Horror and Thrillers
9. fantasy such as Forgotten Realms,
10. history books,
11. humorous books
12. self-improvement books
13. biographies
14. business books

Special Books
1. "Left Behind" series
2. comic books (favorites are Batman and Wolverine.)
3. "Catcher in the Rye" and "Brave New World," as well as other classic novels
4. "Dragonlance" books
5. "Silver Sword" or "Blizzard" publishing books
6. Cisco Certification study guides and CCNA/CCIE/etc study guides.
7. "Macintosh for Dummies" books,
8. books about MAC computers

Magazines
cars, trucks, motorcycles, fishing, Sports Illustrated, Newsweek, TIME, Foreign Affairs and Smithsonian
firearms
books and magazines having to do with Log Cabin building
motorcycle racing

Special Requests
a medic who would like to receive medical journals NEJM (New England Journal of Medicine), JAMMA (American Journal of Medicine), or anything dealing with diseases, or emergency medicine.

Cisco Certification study guides and CCNA/CCIE/etc study guides.
"Macintosh for Dummies" books,
books about MAC computer

One unit isn't actually looking for books! They would like to receive toys and other things to give to children in their area. Maybe with the holiday approaching we can help with this one especially.

>101 Just to clarify, should I sign up for Operation Paperback to help fill some of these October requests, or are these requests you received that you're trying to fill with our help? Either way, please pass on the info to me. I think I could probably help fill some of the Christian fiction/Ted Dekker requests and possibly Star Wars if I can talk a friend into helping me...

I also received the list of books for October for Operation Paperback. I'm wondering if OP really wants the addresses passed through you to second parties, Cheli. Is that okay? Or are you collecting these books to send by yourself?

ETA: When I applied for OP, they seemed pretty particular to whom they were releasing private mailing addresses.

Mary - I PMed you with the instructions.

Madeline, I'm just bringing this list to the attention of those that didn't sign up for OP and didn't get the newsletter list. If they can fill something, we need to help them to get to OP and take care of helping the troops.

That's great, Cheli.

I got my list today from them, told them what I had, and they responded right away. My books should be in the mail tomorrow.

We're going for 750 books, right?!

An FYI note to others, once you're signed up, the process is really easy so take the time to do this.

Thanks for starting this, Cheli! It was such a wonderful thing to do for our troops who put their lives on the line every day for us.

I stumbled on this thread and HOLY COW I'm excited to do this! Just signed up with OP and am looking forward to my first email from them.

Thanks for setting up this group! One quick question - are we using the tag "LTOP" to mark the books?

are we using the tag "LTOP" to mark the books?

I, personally, am not using an LTOP tag because I'm sending books that are not in my LT collection, but, rather, I'm tracking them through Bookcrossing. That allows troops to journal the book after having received and read it. That, of course, is optional, and assumes the troops have the time and computer access to do so. Each of my BC books has its own BCID (Bookcrossing identification number) for tracking purposes. I did include with each book a bookmark (which is doubling as a packing slip so as not to look like an insert) with my screen name associated with LibraryThing.

ETA: I've always been looking for a way to integrate LT and BC. OP seems like an ideal situation to do this!

I've got some biographies. I was waiting to see if I would get a few more books, but I can go to OP and get a list.

We're all doing great. Right now the count so far is 224 books sent. I have 94 that I'm getting ready to pack up and should be picking up another 15 from my non-LT sister next week.

Do you know if OP wants people to send paperback only or can we also send hardback books (although they would be more expensive to ship and heavier to deal with)?

Paperback

The Vietnam Veterans will accept hardbacks if you want a place to donate them.

I don't need a place to donate them. It's just that I have a book about fishing by Nancy Greenlaw, but it's a hardback. I'd given away a paperback by her two days ago (before I got the list from OP) at a BookCrossing meet-up. Oh, well!

I give up.. I am just not able to assemble the sorts of books wanted, and in paperback . I did gather a nice big box though, and found another place to send them. I don't think it will matter since y'all are doing such a great job..

Don't worry Kath, this is supposed to make us feel good about helping, not bad that we didn't meet the criteria of the OP people. Some of the hardbacks that I had I gave to Vietnam Veterans so I feel like it still going to the cause.

I have done that in the past :)

Or actually, sent them to the veterans hospital with the local CAP group
who were visiting..

still I was hoping to help out here. :(

woot! Someone just dropped off an Olive Garden take out bag (the big one) FULL of paperbacks.

I have a bunch of Beanie Babies that I could send to the unit looking for toys if someone could tell me how to do this.
Thanks,
Bea

I don't know if this is the correct way to post a new message, but I just filled out my volunteer request form for Operation Paperback and can't wait to start clearing out my shelves (hopefully!!) What a wonderful idea!!

In regards to the medic's request, would he or she have a problem if the NEJM issues were not especially current?

I have 4 boxes ready to go - 10 books each. I didn't get much from the request list, but a lady dropped off a huge bag full of Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum and other such authors. I'll list them this weekend before I mail them.

Any more about the toys? I plan to donate some books (And what kind of sign is it if I have almost every one on their special requests lists?)
I have a bunch of toys I was going to sell, but I'd be happy to donate a few boxes.

(And what kind of sign is it if I have almost every one on their special requests lists?)

A sign of a fairly widely read human, I'd say. Hooray for you!

Somehow in all the hub bub of getting ready for my new granddaughter's arrival, I almost lost the contact info for the special requests.

Sign up on Operation Paperback http://www.operationpaperback.org/ and then e-mail Operation_Paperback@mail.vresp.com attn: Chrissy Honeywell and she will give the address for the special requests.

Don't forget to post all your donations on the wiki!
http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/Operation_Paperback

We're doing great!

cyderry,

I can help with the magazines!

@nitnut (#93) -- This is another sign from the universe that I'm supposed to re-read that story! I've mentioned it twice to a couple of friends, and now here you are talking about it ... when things pop up three times, it means I HAVE to do something about it read the thing in question (it's how I "got" to read "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" -- ugh), listen to a certain song, watch a given movie ... whatever and then it will leave me alone.
Yeah, I'm weird.

Oh, and I've got some medical journals and magazines that I'm waiting to hear about from OP -- also going to denude the bookcases to make room for more. (That's why I was here in the first place ...)

My girlfriend is willing to donate an almost complete collection of JAMA from late 2007 through the present. We'll be moving soon, and, honestly, I don't think she likes the idea of lugging them :-)

That's tremendous! I am so proud to be part of this group that is working so hard to make these contributions to our fighting men and women.

You all are stars in my book!

Hi, I have medical journals to give away. I have JAMA and a couple of others he might find interesting. What do I do? sjpersing

sjpersing -

see message #123 for how to proceed! Welcome to LT and thanks for joining us in this endeavor!

Just posted 40 books to the wiki. All were donated by people in a local yahoo group I belong to. Lots of Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, John Grisham, etc. A couple of classics and Dracula.

Off to ship.

ETA - 4 boxes total

Wow!!!!
I was just checking the wiki and we have over 300 books sent so far.
I have anpther 94 ready to be labeled, boxed, and mailed as soon as I get an address, so we will definitely hit 400 before the end of the year.

OK - all of you will get a kick out of this I am sure. In August I posted to my local yahoo group that I was collecting books for OP. I have had several people very generously drop by boxes of books. Today, I got an e-mail from a local elementary school. They are starting a book drive for OP next week, and they want me to handle the collecting/shipping. Hello? If it turns out like I imagine it will, I will have to post photos. I have terrifying visions of my garage absolutely stuffed with paperbacks. Maybe I can organize volunteers at the school for packing/labeling and so forth.
I immediately replied and requested that they establish a jar for collecting shipping fees at the same time.
My goodness.

#133: Well, if I lived closer to you, Jenn, I would volunteer to help. Good luck to the school (and to you!)

You're welcome to visit. Come for Thanksgiving :) I'll clean up the guest room.

Jenn,

I understand your feelings about the garage, I have the same thing happening in my laundry room on a smaller scale.

I sent out messages to the members of the Country Club I belong to, my bridge groups, my water aerobics group, my MahJongg groups and I keep getting a bag of books here, a box of books there and while I've been waiting for the addresses from OP, they are all stored in my laundry room. I can barely get the washer door opened! But it is a great feeling to be helping our troops keep up their morale with these small efforts!

I applaud your continued efforts!

#135: I have to work this year on Thanksgiving unfortunately :)

Are we going to re-up on our commitment to the troops in 2011?

So many of our soldiers take on a continuing commitment to defending our freedoms - I, for one, want to work to keep supporting them.

Anyone else with me for 2011? If so I will contact Jim to get a link on the 2011 wiki.

I never stopped. I say go ahead with 2011 for sure!

Although I don't ship many out, I opted for the personal list. My last book out was The Kite Runner to a serviceman on an aircraft carrier. Isn't that cool?

I have my OP books registered on BookCrossing so if any of them are ever journalled, I'll be happy to pass the journal entry along to you here.

I'm all for continuing.

I got 3 big boxes of books from a local school - they held a book drive and I had to cull a number of books for different reasons but I'm left with 3 good size boxes that can be sent. The rest I donated to my local library. Main problem - they didn't include $$ for shipping. It will take me a couple of months to ship them all so I can budget out the shipping, but I've got books to send.

I've a suggestion, though. For 2011, could you start a new thread but with the subject heading "Operation Paperback", "Books for Servicemen", or something to that effect? I bet many people don't click on this topic because it's not clear what the subject really is.

I am going over to 2011 and start a thread with a link to our wiki snd I'll get Jim to link us up.

Happy New Year!