My husband spent a few years in the military right after high school, and he tells me that books were a very important part of his life at that time. Civilians take for granted the nearly limitless entertainment available on our smart phones, computers, and ereaders, but many American soldiers are stationed in parts of the world where they have very little access to even something as simple as reading matter. A good book can make all the difference.
Enter Authors Supporting Our Troops, a project spearheaded by Armand Rosamilia. Armand collects signed books from authors and publishers, packages them up in big boxes, and mails the texts out to soldiers in remote locations, who then spread the books around to their friends. All you have to do to be involved is to email armandrosamilia@gmail.com and ask for his mailing address, sign your books, and ship them out. (Be sure to click the link above if you’d like a slightly less simple way to be involved, such as donating cash to cover postage costs or tracking down soldiers in need of books.)
We all want to support our troops and we all want our books to be read. So why not kill two birds with one stone and shell out a few bucks to feed paperbacks into the hands of our military units abroad?
The Write Stuff 
Reblogged this on Bookin' It and commented:
Please consider doing this! It’s a wonderful way to support our troops!
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Thank you so much for sharing this Aimee. It’s a wonderful idea, and I intend to take part. I hope everyone who reads this will consider doing so as well.
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What a wonderful idea! I wish my books were out so I could send mine, but I’ll bookmark this and help spread the word.
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That’s doing your part, Sue. Spreading the word is huge. And when your books are out, you can sign and send them along, too. This is a great thing, and I’m so happy to be able to take part. I plan to send books a few at a time, spread over the months, as I see how many I have left from various signings and things. And I also plan to tweet this post and spread the word as often as I can. Our men and women in the military deserve it!!
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Thanks for everyone’s excitement and willingness to participate! I’m thrilled to see that The Write Stuff has gotten behind the project. 🙂
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Aimee, I have always had a soft spot in my heart for our troops, and I love being able to do something, even in a small way, to show my support, I hope everyone here will want to take part in this, even if only by spreading the word. Let’s let authors know about this easy, affordable way to share something these selfless men and women will enjoy. For many of us, the larger gifts aren’t within our reach, but all of us who write can do this. A signed book, letting the recipient know he or she is appreciated? It’s a great idea, and I hope record numbers of books will go out this year!
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Reblogged this on So, I Read This Book Today and commented:
What a GREAT idea!! So, all of you writers – this is an inexpensive way to help out the troops and do a wonderful deed!
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Reposted to my site! I wonder if they would like really good books that aren’t signed? I have almost a full set of Robert Jordon, and a ton of paperbacks in good shape I only read once and they will just sit there – I can’t read paperbacks any more, my eyes won’t let me focus on paper books. . Hum….
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I’m afraid that in his post, the organizer says they’re not looking for unsigned books. I think part of the appeal of the signed book is that the soldier knows that the author was thinking of him or her and specifically sent our work their way.
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Makes perfect sense. And what a wonderful thought, isn’t it. I missed that part – sleep and I haven’t been on speaking terms lately…makes me miss things I would normally catch. .. thanks for pointing that out. 😉
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What a brilliant idea. I’m definitely going to participate and blog about this program to help spread the word. Thanks for sharing, Marcia. Cheers!
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