Bookcrossing (sort of 'Message In a Bottle')
 

I was at the Womens Connection sportscentre a couple of days ago and had a cup of tea after my swim. On the coffee table there were a couple of paperback novels with large bookplates inside.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the books were donated for anyone to read....on an honour system where once you finished reading the book you would leave it in another public place eg. airport, railway station, coffee shop, park bench etc. for another person to read. You can also keep a note of where and when you came across the book and comments on what you thought about it on the bookcrossing website.

I went to the website and it seems to be very popular...some of these donated books are crossing the US and even go on intercontinental journeys! (There were some posts from readers in the UK).

I didn't take the books at the sportscentre (sci-fi novels, not my cup of tea) but I thought it was a great idea. Anyone can donate books and you can download bookplates or/and bookmarks from the website. I think I'll have a clear out of some of my older paperback novels that are gathering dust in my bookcase and leave them in various locations....it might be fun to see what happens to them over the course of time! :)

http://www.bookcrossing.com/

Re: Bookcrossing (sort of 'Message In a Bottle')
 

I listened to a fascinating programme on this on BBC Radio 4 (www.bbc.co.uk/radio4), where 84 copies of "84 Charing Cross Road" were left in various places, and people were asked to call a free number and tell a few things, like their name, where they found their copy, what number it was, and where they left it for the next person. I think everyone *always* stayed to see who picked up the book. :)

It's a great idea, and something I'll definitely get involved in. I'll bet publishers hate the idea. ;)

Re: Bookcrossing (sort of 'Message In a Bottle')
 

I think the Gideons have a similar set up but they seem to only have a lot of duplicate copies of the same book ;)

Re: Bookcrossing (sort of 'Message In a Bottle')
 

handy for covering the floor with though if you have a massive spray mount project on the go.... :D