Free Books In The Wild! (bookcrossing.com)

Member Name: zusy

Product:	bookcrossing.com
Date:	20/04/04 (92 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Free books!, Sharing books you like with people all over the world, Fun!

Disadvantages: Confusing list of places, Maybe not a good idea to leave things on public transport?, Waiting for your book to be claimed!

Have you ever 'realeased' a book? Have you ever stumbled across a book 'in the wild'? If you think I'm gabbling gobbledygook, then you very likely haven't heard of bookcrossing.com - a website set up to encourage people all over the world to simply leave books they have already read in public places so that others may read them.

This all sounds very worthy, but what, you may be wondering, is the point of that, other than being rather nice and possibl earning a halo at some point in a white-fluffy-cloud future in Heaven?

The point is this: bookcrossing.com is a WHOLE lot more than that! This is a global bookshelf of free books that can be traced from the peron who donated or 'released' them, through all the people who then found the book and read it

Step One: Set up a (totally free) member's account (just like setting up a dooyoo member's account); you can then register books you have and are planning to give away - these can be books on any subject under the sun and in any language.

Step Two: Register a book - this is done by simply entering either the ISBN number (the number found on the first page of the book under the publisher's details) or manually typing the Title, name of the author and choosing from a list of categories the one you feel best describes the book (Mystery & Thriller, Children's, Reference, etc). Once you have done this a new page opens with a generated tracking number on it - this is a totally unique number that connects that particular copy of the book to you. In other words, if 500 people over the world have also released the same novel, for example, this number just identifies your copy, nobody else's.

Step Three: Print out a label to stick in the front of the book - the labels are already designed for you, or y
ou might like to design your own. The purpose of the label is to give the address of the website and explain a little about the concept,
also there's a space on the label to write the tracking number (explained above). This means that the person who finds your book can go to the website, type in the tracking number and find out where it was originally 'realeased', who released it, read reviews of the book and so on... That person has then claimed that copy and tpe in their own details - you can keep track of the book wherever it goes!

Step Four: Release the book! (That sounds awfully like 'Release The Hounds!' only with nicer intentions). Releasing the book is the easiest part, or should be - it just means leaving the book somewhere public where people are likely to stop and notice their surroundings a while, and will therefore be more likely to pick up your book. Good places to release books are: Coffee shops, pubs, cafes, restaurants, supermarkets, lauderettes, park benches, around monuments/statues etc... really, it's up to you to use your imagination, though obviously some places are more suitable than others.

One slight concern I have is that the website encourages people to leave books on the Underground or other types of public transport. I realise this is an obvious choice, but perhaps in the current climate of attempting to be vigillant about not leaving belongings on the tube or trains (in case they coul be mistaken as a possible threat) this wouldn't be such a good idea. I don't know, I'm just thinking out-loud.

A good tip I found on the website is to put a brightly coloured Post-It note on the cover of the book, and write on it in bold lettering something along the lines of: PLEASE READ ME! THIS BOOK IS N
;OT LOST, IT IS FREE TO WHOEVER PICKS IT UP. SEE INSIDE FOR DETAILS! It makes it easy to see that you have left the book behind deliberately and more likely that someone will openly pick it up and start reading.

I have only just joined this site, having read about it in 'INK' magazine, and am enjoying the exper
ience immensely. I love the idea that books I 'release' (I released my first yesterday and plan to release another tomorrow) could be picked up by someone who will go on to love reading it as much as I did, who will then re-release the book and so on and so on, until it could have travelled around the world finding like-minded readers, all of whom can keep in contact with eachother, if they so wish!

Having released your book you are tremendously excited about the possibilities, and keep a look-out to see if you can find any other books 'in the wild' (this is what they call it when books have been released but not yet claimed). You can search the site to see what books have been released in your area, read reviews of books, browse other members profiles, post on message boards - it's very addictive once you start.

I would have given the site full marks, because it really is a fabulous idea, but what lets it down is the fact that when you come to register where you live, or where you have released a book, the list to choose from is VERY confusing. The reason for this is the fact that the site caters for people all over the world, it therefore would have been an impossible task for the people who run the site to list every single village in every single town in the world. What they have done instead is let people type in their ow
n place categories, so if you live in London, say, you have to scroll through a list of places that actually begin with trains! This is because previous people have typed the place they released their books as trains, and the site collects that and lists it alphabtically as though the train itself were a town. Hmmm.

Another slight concern I had was that it would detract from people donating their old books to charity shops (something I always do) but thinking about it, I have donated literally hundreds of books to charity in the past, so it doesn't matter if I give a few away for free. Another
thing to consider is the fact that, proportionally, many more people will donate/buy books from charity shops than will bother to register individual books on this website, so it is hardly leaving charities penniless in the grand scheme of things.

I would encourage every single person who loves sharing books to register with the website and start releasing books into the wild. Who knows how many people will read your book? Will they love it or loathe it? Will they live in the same town as you or could it travel around the world to a remote island you have never heard of?!

For anyone who has concerns about privacy - nobody will be able to see your address, only the town you live in; and you needn't even give our real name, you can have whatever username you like. Mine is Princess-Sulky (usernames can only be separated by hyphens, not underscores).

Nobody makes a penny out of this website - it's run for pleasure not for profit. The way they keep going is by people clicking on links and buying books on amazon or wherever, and also by selling some bookplates and other stationary packs you can use to release books more easily (by not having to print out your own labels) - you are in no way obligated to do this, of course.

Finally, I
mut share with you a funny experience that happened to me after releasing m first book, yesterday: I was in a coffee shop and, having finished my drink, 'released' the book by leaving it on the table and walking out. I veritably skipped along, wondering how long it would be before someone found the book and if they would then claim it on the website so I could see who found it and where it would end up.... A minute later I heard footsteps behind me, and very out-of-breath waitress announced that I had left my book in the cafe. She had pelted down the street after me, thinking I had mislaid it, bless her heart. I pointed to the Post-It note on the cover, and explained that I'd deliberatel
y left it behind. Oh dear - I hope she left it for someone else to find and didn't put it straight in the bin!

So, what are you waiting for? Release the books!

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