Book exchange provides unique study break

A plethora of books were laid down for Geneseo students to exchange and choose from at the Sigma Tau Delta annual book exchange on Thursday April 9. Members of Sigma Tau Delta and other students gathered at the Knight Spot to exchange books and socialize as a means to de-stress.

“It’s a nice event to relax at toward the end of the year,” co-president of Sigma Tau Delta senior Christina Mortellaro said. “People get to exchange books and learn about each other more.” The book exchange is always held toward the end of the semester to serve as a relaxing activity for students who are stressed with finals.

At the start of the event, students browsed around tables where books were on display, searching for what piqued their interest. The exchange was simple—give a book for one in return or donate at least 60 cents per book. All proceeds from the event went to She’s the First, an organization that promotes literacy for young women in developing nations. All of the books were either donated by students or by Geneseo’s Goodwill.

The theme this year was “mystery,” with Sigma Tau Delta executive board members dressing up in costumes to play the part. “Typically, when we try to find a theme for the book exchange, we try to see what’s popular in contemporary American culture,” Mortellaro said. The theme was chosen because of the recent movie adaptations of mystery novels such as Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl and Lee Child’s Jack Reacher. Past themes have included “Children’s Literature” and “The Great Gatsby” in celebration of both the movie adaptation and the novel’s anniversary.

After a thorough viewing of all books on display, the event went on to host performers from Geneseo Poets’ Society. “One of our e-board members is on the slam poetry team and she said that they were always looking for a new venue,” Mortellero said. Following the poetry, the Geneseo Guitar Club performed and Sigma Tau Delta held an English literature trivia contest with Lee Child’s Reacher and Gillian Flynn’s sequels to Gone Girl as prizes.

“I was really happy to see the turn out,” Moretellaro said. “We had a lot of foot traffic at the beginning, but I was glad to see how many people stuck around.”