If you’re anything like me, your home is swamped with books; on the table, beside the bed, overflowing the shelves and tucked behind cushions on the sofa. These ever-growing stacks are wonderfully comforting but if, like me, you have very limited space, sometimes you have to clear some of the clutter.

I often give books to friends or to the local charity shop, but the stacks keep growing! It’s impossible to not buy books. You could read every minute of every day and there would still be more books you want to read.

Some books I want to keep because they’re gifts, special editions, or have sentimental value. Some of them I’m forced to keep because I know I’m going to have to reread them again very soon because they really were that good. Or perhaps there’s a stylistic element I want to look at and consider in detail (without it hindering the story). Other books are like good friends and I simply like having them around.

So how do you reduce the number of books you own yet read more? I do use the local library – I adore libraries and cannot advocate them enough – but that only helps with one part of the problem.

So I came up with the idea of a book swap. Not a completely original idea, I admit, but a new concept for this blog. The idea is this: I post photos and descriptions of the books I’m (reluctantly) willing to part with and you offer a swap in the comments. We exchange postal info and voila – a new book for the price of a few stamps. What do you think? Interested?

OK, here are my first few swaps:

Stylistically brilliant, you don’t have to like the characters to love the book. A clear winner with our book club.

Never has a title been more appropriate. Personally, I found this impossible to read but everyone else I know raved about it. See for yourself.

One of the most talked-about debuts of 2013 about the last people in Iceland to be publicly executed.

A Young Adult title recommended for fans of Jacqueline Wilson & Sarah Dessen (Note: this is an uncorrected proof)