One of the activities at our book swap party was a simple jar where gals could drop in their favorite books of all time – the ones they think everyone should read! I was SO intrigued to read the picks, and I thought you might be, too… All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren An American Marriage by Tayari Jones Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane Bad Blood by John Carreyrou The Book Thief by Markus Zusak* The Bright Hour by Nina Riggs The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt* The Cruel Prince by Holly Black Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese Defending Jacob by William Landay East of Eden by John Steinbeck Educated by Tara Westover* Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine* Field Notes on Love by Jennifer Smith A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson Limelight by Amy Poeppel The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah* The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett* The Seven Sisters series by Lucinda Riley Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner The Stand by Stephen King To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han When I Pray For You by Matthew Paul Turner Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker …and Pressley suggested we all just follow Annie B. Jones for the best book recommendations! I’ve cosigned with an * the ones I’ve read above, but consider this your end-of-summer reading list from a whole gaggle of smart, fun, well-read friends!

As an introvert, I’m a big fan of parties with a purpose, and my recent book swap party perfectly fit the bill: gather with likeminded friends, eat dessert, and head home with an armful of new reads? Sign me up!! Here’s a recap, if you’d like to plan something similar! The venue: My friend Katie graciously agreed to host this soiree, which couldn’t have worked out better: her husband is an author, so their home is filled with books and was therefore the perfect backdrop! Her first floor is also a more traditional layout, with several distinct rooms, which helped with the flow of the evening. In addition to playing hostess, most of the adorable details you see here are the work of Katie’s hand – she is incredibly crafty and a genius hand letterer!! She made the book table runner, the adorable treat bags, the “library cards,” and more. (She also makes AMAZING wedding invitations and other fun things, so please email her to talk about a project!!) The invite: I sent out an invitation on Paperless Post (this one). We had an almost 100% RSVP rate, including a few EFM readers I had never met before! :) The swap mechanics: My research turned up all different ways to host a book swap – some people do a Yankee Swap, or a Yankee Swap with wrapped books for extra mystery. My goal, however, was to clear out my shelves, pass on well-loved books, and get several new books in return, so I allowed gals to bring up to 5 books to swap that they already owned. (One book was totally fine, too! I’d say most people brought about 3.) Any kind of book was welcome – fiction, nonfiction, memoir, cookbook, coffee table book – the only requirement was that