At my day job, my official title is “Sustainability Specialist.” I am the only person at my company with that title, so most of the time I’m not exactly sure what I’m supposed to be doing.

But there’s one week out of the year where I am certain of my place in the world. And that’s Earth Week. I coordinate a week’s worth of events for more than 2,300 employees at our corporate campus.

We tried a new event this year, called Trash-to-Treasure. The idea is that you bring in items from home that you don’t want or need anymore, others do the same, and then everyone can browse the lot and take whatever they want for free.

It turns out free stuff goes over awfully well.

When Books Become Trash

At this event, we had a section for books needing new homes. I didn’t recognize most of the titles there, the bulk of which were romances. But three stood out to me:

1. Twilight
2. A hardcover thesaurus
3. A Word 97 user manual

#1 was gone even before the event officially started, snagged by a woman who looked to be in her mid-20s. She had already read the book but didn’t own a copy. Just as I was opening my mouth to sing the praises of The Hunger Games and Graceling, she scurried off with the bane of good writing and modern womanhood clutched to her chest. Damn.

#2 and #3 didn’t find new homes, so they got boxed up with all the other leftovers and taken to the Island of Misfit Books, aka Goodwill. I don’t have high hopes for the Word 97 manual, poor thing. The thesaurus may find a new home if it’s lucky.

What’s a Green Book Lover to Do?

Many unwanted books just sit on a shelf somewhere, not getting used or read or picked up for months, even years. That depresses the heck out of me. It’s one reason that I love sites like PaperBackSwap because the book you no longer want will end up in the hands of someone who does want that specific title.

But what of the old user manuals and thesauri? Is there any way to prolong their usefulness before chucking them into the recycle bin?

Your Turn

What do you do with misfit books?

And while you ponder that, I’m going to get started on the Biggest Review Backlog Ever. I hope the Earth will be okay with one less Sustainability Specialist for a while.

p.s. The Great Unsung YA 2010 Giveaway has ended, but in the craziness of Earth Week I didn’t pick the winners on Monday night. I will this weekend!

Photo by SpecialKRB.