Post: #1

Wherever you work - throw up a couple of book shelves. And ask people to bring in books they don't want anymore.

They can leave the books on the shelves - or swap for another book which catches their eye.

It is a simple idea. But it is fun. We did it where I work (a year ago). And it is really nice being able to browse through random books at work - as well as get rid of some of your own.

It actually makes your workplace a more interesting place to be. Since you get a feel for other people's interests and so on. And if provides a random distraction from the work day.

It is a win/win.

Post: #2

Depends where you work. We have that at my place and it's full of chick-lit holiday garbage.

When I saw the title, I thought you were going to bring up the classic way to enjoy some downtime at work -
1. get an ebook from somewhere.
2. copy the text into your corporate document template
3. sit there reading a Word document, occasionally highlighting sections and typing random words, while everyone thinks you're working.

"I'd hate myself if I had that kind of attitude, if I were that weak." - Arnold

Post: #3

I've seen some work book sharing programs that worked. On one job I had, everybody brought their college textbooks in. Since most had engineering and computer science degrees, we had some great reference material around.