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Book Crossing - Recycling books 'into the wild'

Bookcrossing has been a wonderful addition to my book obsession! I have a bookshelf as well. The url is in my signature!
 
That's a cool site and idea Ell:cool:


*************SPOILERS FOR AMELIE FILM*****************












Inspired by the film Amelie, I came across a couple of sites where people post their addresses and you can exchange gifts, books etc.... or you can do a ' Random act of kindness', and just send them some cool stuff. You don't have to tell people your address or who you are, so you can remain mysterious.:cool:

Some of the stuff I send people are books, maybe books I think that they would not normally read, but would find interesting, as with what happened to Ell with Nick Hornby's About a Boy.

It gives you a buzz:)
 
Stephen,

What's the site for that? I would love to participate in something like that. It sounds like a fantastic idea.

KT
 
Thanks for the links Stephen. I like the Nervousness site a lot, but I just can't work out how to get my foot in the door to get started. It seems to be swamped with people trying to get involved and all I want to do is exchange my art with others, do you have any tips?

Thanks,
KT
 
Originally posted by Sharkgirl
Thanks for the links Stephen. I like the Nervousness site a lot, but I just can't work out how to get my foot in the door to get started. It seems to be swamped with people trying to get involved and all I want to do is exchange my art with others, do you have any tips?

Thanks,
KT

Hi,

The best tip I would give is, select one person, someone who seems to have been there awhile, and send them some art, or exchange anything you want. P.M them to get there address, thats if you can't find on the forum, ask if they want to exchange and send something to them first so they know they can trust you. Then just enclose your address in the package and they will most probably send you something back.

It's probably best just to start small, till you get the hang of things.

Hope this helps. :)
 
Bookcrossing

Hi, have any of you heard of bookcrossing?

This is such a great idea dammit! Already I have left 2 books in the wild for people to find. I would explaine it but i'll do it really badly dammit lol So ill just paste what it says on the web site here and if you want to know more go to the web site. oh, and remember to join it lol You can find the website address URL in my sig!!! spread the word! :)

From the website:

What is BookCrossing, you ask? It's a global book club that crosses time and space. It's a reading group that knows no geographical boundaries. Do you like free books? How about free book clubs?. Well, the books our members leave in the wild are free... but it's the act of freeing books that points to the heart of BookCrossing. Book trading has never been more exciting, more serendipitous, than with BookCrossing. Our goal, simply, is to make the whole world a library. BookCrossing is a book exchange of infinite proportion, the first and only of its kind.

Here at BookCrossing.com you'll find tens of thousands of book reviews, book ratings, and book recommendations, because each time a book changes hands our members can leave journal entries telling the world of their experiences.

But let's get right down to it. You know the feeling you get after reading a book that speaks to you, that touches your life, a feeling that you want to share it with someone else? BookCrossing.com gives you a simple way to share books with the world, and follow their paths forevermore!

The "3 Rs" of BookCrossing...
Read a good book (you already know how to do that)
Register it here (along with your journal comments), get a unique BCID (BookCrossing ID number), and label the book
Release it for someone else to read (give it to a friend, leave it on a park bench, donate it to charity, "forget" it in a coffee shop, etc.), and get notified by email each time someone comes here and records journal entries for that book. And if you make Release Notes on the book, others can Go Hunting for it and try to find it!
Sounds easy, right? Well it is. It's also a fascinating exercise in fate, karma, or whatever you want to call the chain of events that can occur between two or more lives and one piece of literature. Oh, and we should mention, it's absolutely free and absolutely private, too.
 
It was Bookcrossing that led me to The Book Forum, funny enough.

It's a great idea - and a great site. :)

I do find it difficult, however, to part with any of my books.:(

Maybe I'd start buying second copies.

Hobitten:rolleyes:
 
Yeah, I know what you mean :) And there are books in my collection that I could NEVER part with. They mean something to me because I was reading them at a certain time or place. There are books that moved me in a certain way, told me something or was just really beautiful. It IS very difficult parting with any book of mine though :) My plan in future is to mostly by books from a charity shop whenever I can and release them into th wild :) That way, I am giving to charity and I am doing good on the bookcrossing side! Win win! Though, I will still release some of my book. Although, I will never have more books going out than I have going in.

Regards
Wabbit
 
I have seen this on quite a few message boards now, and it looks interesting. But does anyone know anyone who has actually *caught* a book? There must be someone!
 
Yeah, people have actually caught books! :)

They say on the web site that the percentage is about 25 percent of books get caught. I guess it's all down to fate though :) I could release 100 and never get one caught while somebody else just will just release 10 and have 3 caught :)

Anyway, I like the randomness, fate, serendipity of the whole thing. I like to wonder and dream about it lol I have, so far, released two books into the wild. Now I wonder, what became of my books? Are they in a good home, right now and being read? Are they STILL in the wild? Did somebody throw them away? Did somebody take it to sell? It's good to wonder and imagine what has happened. AND, you never know, in 5 years time the book may turn up as caught! that would be great!!!

Regards
Sillywabbit
 
I read about this a while back. Like the idea, but hope that the books do go on being read and don't just end up filling more space in landfill sites!

I often pass books on to friends and relatives, so I know they are being used.
 
GREAT! :)

They also have on that site something really intresting

Bookring
bookray
and bookbox

Bookring: Somebody will offer a book in a forum and some people will sign up saying they want to be a part of the bookring. The person with the book will send it out to the first person on his/her list. The person will read it and pass it on to the next person on the list. Everybody will enter into the books journal and say what they thought about it. The book should eventually travel around the ring and return to the sender. Cool huh? I just signed up in a book ring for the Alchemist :) look forward to reading it.

Bookray: Pretty much the same as the book ring except the book won't return to the sender and will just keep getting passed along till the last one on the list who will then keep it or send it out into the wild.

Bookbox: Again, like the bookring. But this time with a box where somebody takes out a book and puts in another book so when the box returns to you then you should have a box of new books to read :) I like this idea a lot but its a lilttle heavy on the postage costs! :)

Hope you enjoy your time at bookcrossing... tell em the rabbit sent you lol

Best regards
SillyWabbit
 
SillyWabbit, I've added you to my friends on Bookcrossing. :)
I've been a member for 10 months or so. Love it! I generally buy books at library sales to release and share. You can see my bookshelf at http://www.bookcrossing.com/mybookshelf/nelka35 .
I have a few bookrays and a bookbox going that I started, too. :cool:
I came here from Bookcrossing, too... :p :D


 
As Americans say... cool! :)

I will add you to my friends list too! I am going to do a book ring for "The House of Spirits" as soon as I have read it and then release it. Going to the shopping centre on Friday and I am hoping to get some books from the charity shops there for release :)

have you had any catches yet? :D

Best Regards
Wabbit
 
Originally posted by M&O But does anyone know anyone who has actually *caught* a book? There must be someone! [/B]

I have caught books, and some of my books have been found my someone. And I have found new friends, been introduced to books I would never had even thought about in library..

And I have released in several countries: at the moment Finland, United Kingdom, China and Switzerland is coming to the list at Thursday.

I actually read now more than I ever did, buy books more etc. I just love BookCrossing! :D
 
Bookcrossings...

I have Bookcrossings bookmarked, too. When you read as voraciously as I do, you can't keep them all!

Haven't you guys heard the saying, "What goes around..."?

;)
 
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