Fiona and I stumbled across a Bookcrossing book at the Islington Farmers Market last Sunday, an old copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Fiona hadn’t heard of the website, so I explained the concept (people ‘release’ books into the wild, with them hopefully being discovered and passed on, their journeys logged on the website).
I first came across the Bookcrossing website whilst working on the BBC’s Book of the Future project (aside: ‘hi’ to James Boardwell, who worked with me on the site and recently e-mailed me after finding this blog). We released five copies of the book into the wild, in a (not particularly successful) attempt to generate some interest in publication of the book (of the website). Only one copy got any feedback.
Judging by the person who released the book we found (Mr Gorseman), people who use the website seem to release lots of books (almost 150 in the case of Mr Gorseman) in an attempt to get atleast some of them read and commented on. I guess it must be a bit addictive, and a nice feeling to know that someone’s appreciated the book you’ve given away.
I’m not sure that the appeal is that wide though, and a more popular option for getting rid of second hand books nowadays seems to be flogging them through Amazon or eBay.
Andy said:
I can understand the appeal of releasing these bookcrossing books, it sounds a bit like putting a message in a bottle and throwing it into the ocean in the hope it will get washed up somewhere and found. I’ve done a that a few times without success.
Linda H said:
Hi Frankie, I’ve released a few books via this site too but never got any feedback. It’s better than throwing them away though. I like the idea of people just finding books reading them and passing them on, otherwise they can take up so much space. I gave up on it after a few attempts and decided to sell my old paperbacks instead.