Book Crossing - Recycling books 'into the wild'

[Ell]

Following on the topic of what we do with books:

Has anyone seen the Book Crossing site? It encourages readers to recycle their books by leaving them to be found by others "for free" - on park benches, bus stops, coffee shops, airports, etc.

You register the books you've read, then release them "into the wild" for others to find and read, who in turn release them for others. When you register and release the book, you make a journal entry on the website. Each book you register is given an ID number that is placed on a sticker in the book. The sticker then refers the finder of the book back to the website to make another entry about the book -eg. where and when it was found, where and when it's being released again, etc. You can track where/when your books are found and where they've gone. Very interesting concept.

I've been thinking of registering and releasing some books. It would be easy to release books I don't care for, but really hard for me to release ones I like. I'd have to get over the book "ownership" thing first!

What do you the rest of you think about this concept of recycling books?

 

[Marie]

I had already heard about it but didn't know where to find the web site. I think it's a great idea, I'll definitely try it... (but like you, Ell, I can't part from books I've enjoyed reading...)

The risk though is that people would pick it up without making an entry and keep it and the book will simply be lost...

Worth a try anyway!

Marie

 

[Gracewings]

Well, this comment is not much different. I think the concept is really neat but letting go of the book would be too hard for me. If I should ever end up with two of the same copy, I think I will give it a try.

This idea reminds me of the day I got back a $10 bill with http://www.wheresgeorge.com stamped on it. After registering at the site, you can track where it's been and going. Come to think of it, I haven't checked on that for a long time.

 

[Ell]

Found a Book Crossing book!

Well, I found a Book Crossing book at my local Starbucks. It was sitting on the magazine rack among the periodicals

I plan to read it then put it back into the wild. Now I've got to go through my own bookshelves to find what else I can release.

Kind of fun to think it might make it around the world.

 

[Marie]

Funny coincidence!

That you wrote a post about this just a couple of days ago...

Out of curiosity: which book?

 

[Ell]

"About a Boy" by Nick Hornby.

I checked it out on Amazon.ca and it got very good reviews.

 

[Ell]

Just finished "About a Boy" and plan to re-release it back into the wild this afternoon.

It was a surprisingly good read. Not something I would have picked up on my own, so I'm glad to have found it.

Now, I'm hoping it'll get picked up by someone else who will appreciate it.

BTW, books of my own that I've decided to release: Bastard Out of Carolina, Memoirs of a Geisha, and The Simple Truth. Will let you all know if they get picked up and anyone makes a journal entry.

 

[Darren]

I've just had a quick browse around the Book Crossing site. It's certainly an interesting concept.

Ell, would you mind posting the ID numbers of your books so we can all keep track of where they get to.

Where are you going to release them? I've got a couple I might release "into the wild", but wouldn't want them to get thrown into the rubbish bin by mistake!

 

[Ell]

I was starting to worry - but 2 of my releases finally got "caught" yesterday. I've only released 4 books - just in case it doesn't work and people throw them in the trash or something.

From other Book Crosser comments, it sometimes takes months before someone makes a journal entry on a book that you release. Maybe some people don't have access to a computer, some can't be bothered, some are just slow at getting around to reading the book. Anyways, it does seem to work

BTW, you can look up my releases and catches here

My screen name there is palebluedot, as in Carl Sagan's book "Pale Blue Dot" or how the astronauts view the earth from space.

 

[Prolixic]

I have just had a look at the Book Crossing site and it looks like a great idea. We seem to be rather low around here on the type of people that might graze on Free Range Books but you never know. It is intriguing to think about the travels of a book once it has been freed. What sights will it see? Who it will affect in its new life? Will it survive in the wild or become part of a birds nest? The angnst of the bibliophile parting with their beloved...Wonderful stuff. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Dave B]

Originally posted by Prolixic
It is intriguing to think about the travels of a book once it has been freed. What sights will it see? Who it will affect in its new life? Will it survive in the wild or become part of a birds nest?

Hey, wouldn't it just make a great story line for a book #

Dave B

 

[Prolixic]

Or a documentary, "Wild Texts of the North American Continent," Next on the Discovery Channel. Or a outdoor program, "Catch and Release Techniques for Freed Books." How about a talk show, "Bibliophiles: the books they love and the books the let go." Soon, it will be on CNN, "Dejected Book, freed by owner, holds librarian hostage..."

Really, though, I went and downloaded some labels yesterday and started contemplating which books I could part with. It may turn out to be a great way to promote literacy. God knows we need some literacy promoted in some parts of the world.

 

[alsomama]

Check out this cool new book site!

I joined this book site last month and thought it would interest other readers. It's fun and it's FREE (or I wouldn't mention it here.) It's called BookCrossing and the idea is to read, register and release your books. I've released lots of books and found 10 new ones to read. Here's the link:

Books just wanna be FREE! See what I mean at:
http://bookcrossing.com/friend/alsomama

I hope you like it as much as I do!
alsomama

 

[Ell]

Welcome to The Book Forum, alsomama

You might be interested in another thread we had about Book Crossing a few weeks ago. You can find it here

Ell

 

[alsomama]

Thanks so much for the link...

it was fun to read impressions of BookCrossing. I was also a little hesitant to release books and I have to admit there are some I have registered and have no intention of ever releasing. Still, I have "gone hunting" to places listed on the site that had books and I acquired 12 new books for free! Of course, I've released 19 of mine! Still, it's lots of fun. I hope some of the members of this forum have a good time with it. And thanks again for the reply!

 

[Ell]

alsomama, I took a peek at your bookshelf at BookCrossing. Wow, have you been busy

19 out of your 43 releases have been "caught" - pretty impressive.

 

[alsomama]

Well, my first 5 releases have never been "caught" as far as I know and I got a little discouraged. So I released some books to my friends. But that was not quite in the spirit of the site, either. I happened to find a cafe where others were releasing books and I released some of mine there and that was better--about 1/2 of the books I've left there have been caught and journaled. I even met another BookCrosser there who was releasing books so we now release books to each other. I do try and hedge my bets by leaving books where I've had success in the past. Still experimenting with the site. I'm having a great time with it!
Meryl
alsomama

 

[letterHead]

It's nice to see that I'm not the only Bookcrosser on the forum.
I got around the release reluctance by getting two copies of books I liked, then releasing one of them.

If you are interested, my bookshelf is here.

I would be really chuffed if one of them managed to make their way overseas.

 

[Dawn]

I visited the site. I was surprised to see a book was released a block from my house! I may give this a shot.

BTW, welcome!

 

[cestmoi]

Bookcrossing

I'm also a bookcrosser and love it. So glad to find this site too and I am having a ton of fun exploring it.
My user name on bookcrossing is also cestmoi!