On most nights, cheers for women’s sports fill 1972 Pub on Guadalupe Street. That energy surged for books on Wednesday as attendees rushed to tables, calling out to friends over music and flipping through stacks of novels for the sixth ATX Book Swap.
The monthly gathering, which started in August 2025, invites community members to bring books they no longer want in exchange for new reads.
“I love the sense of community that it brings,” attendee and volunteer Regina Balmaceda said. “Also, the idea of sustainability. You don’t have to buy new books that are expensive. You can bring your old ones, and then get new ones and make new friends. It’s the perfect event archetype.”
Community and giving define the event’s mission, as each swap supports a different local nonprofit through optional donations. Along with raffle prizes from Austin businesses, the event incorporates an interactive activity. This event featured 2026 Bingo cards, while past gatherings included letters to your future self, encouraging attendees to sit, mingle and engage beyond the exchange.
Miranda, the organization’s founder, organizes the events with the help of volunteers while working full-time as a global event project manager. She intentionally keeps distance from the donation totals, allowing funds to go directly to each organization.
“Every month I choose a different local nonprofit, and I never know how much is donated to that local nonprofit because it goes directly to them,” Miranda said. “That always makes me feel good, to … see people donating. I see people grabbing books … There’s a lot of good giving back going on.”
Beyond fundraising, the swaps have encouraged people to reconnect with reading, including those who shied away from books for years. Christabell Nunez, a regular attendee, credits the swaps for helping to rebuild her reading habit.
“I bring about three or four books each time, and then take three or four books back home,” Nunez said. “(I’ve) already (read), since I’ve been coming to the swaps, 75 books.”
For Nunez, ATX Book Swap offered something deeper. By her third time attending, the events felt familiar. After her father passed away, conversations with other attendees turned to shared experiences of grief and losing a parent.
“They were having a swap the next week, and I (thought), ‘No, I’m still gonna go… This is something that brings me happiness,” Nunez said. “It really gave me a different kind of community.”
That sense of openness remains central to ATX Book Swap’s mission.
“Community is at the heart of everything we do,” Miranda said. “It is about coming here and talking to people. If that’s not your vibe, and you want to come and sit in the corner, that’s fine, too … But it is definitely a good place to meet people if you put yourself out there.”
