Sunday 6 April 2008

BookCrossing


Over the years, I have acquired quite a few books - some of which I love and could happily read over and over again, but there are also others that I am less fond of. More recently, however, I find myself refraining from buying books, simply because I just don't have the space to store them. One alternative would be of course to buy a bigger book shelf, but I had also thought about parting ways with the books that I probably wont ever read again. Rather that just throwing them away or giving them to a second-hand bookstore, I am considering releasing them into the big wide world, sending them on a literary adventure. Some time ago, I heard about a worldwide book sharing service called BookCrossing which simply involves registering a book, and then leaving it somewhere for someone to pick it up and read. The books can be left in cafes, hotels, on buses or park benches, and whoever picks up the book registers its new location. Once this person reads the book, it can once again be left for another unsuspecting reader in a new location, and the travels of the book can be tracked on the BookCrossing website. I think this is a really novel idea (pardon the pun), and as the BookCrossing website states, by participating you "Help make the whole world a library and share the joy of literacy." It will be interesting to see where my books end up...