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Thrift store: Please stop donating 'The Da Vinci Code'

"The Da Vinci Code" may be a bestseller, but it's a drag on a UK charity shop that's swimming in the popular paperback.

Amanda Kooser
Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
Amanda Kooser
2 min read
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Make it stop.

Oxfam Shop Castle Street

The Oxfam charity thrift store in Swansea in the UK has a paperback problem on its hands. The shop is currently drowning in copies of Dan Brown's hit 2003 novel "The Da Vinci Code," so it had to take action.

The Oxfam shop built a display using stacks and stacks of the bestselling book and offers this message to well-meaning customers: "You could give us another Da Vinci Code...but we would rather have your vinyl! We urgently need more records to keep our customers happy! ...And to make more money for Oxfam!"

The store posted a photo of the plea to its Facebook page last week, and The Telegraph brought our attention to this serious matter on Monday. Shop manager Phil Broadhurst told The Telegraph the shop receives one copy of the book every day.

Oxfam, a confederation of charitable groups, works to fight poverty around the world and provides aid in disaster situations.

In the spirit of helping out the charity store, here are some handy suggestions for what to do with your copy of "The Da Vinci Code" instead of donating it to Oxfam:

  1. Slip it into one of those little free libraries in between the inevitable copies of "Angels & Demons" and "Inferno."
  2. Carefully remove the pages and make origami Yodas.
  3. Carve a secret compartment inside to hide your cryptex.

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