Book Sharing and BookCrossing

Posted by Andree Lachapelle Jul 16, 2006

BookCrossing.com is a book sharing system that makes it easy - and fun! - to give your books away to complete strangers, who compete to find the books that interest them - participants in a literary treasure hunt of sorts.

Members of this online community simply register the books they want to share - or 'release' - with BookCrossing.com; a number is assigned to the book, which is then left in a public place for other book-lovers to find. The person releasing the book helps the process along by letting the other members know precisely where the book will be left. Book-finders are encouraged to post reviews and share their thoughts with other members, before releasing the books once again.

I first heard of the online book club ages ago, and have released a few books over the years ... but then as time passed, I forgot about BookCrossing.

This morning I started reading "River Reel," a new book by Bonnie Laing (published by Sumach Press.) I soon fell under the author's spell: her poetic descriptions of the main character's relationship with her mother touched my heart, and I immediately wanted to share. Share the feeling, share the experience, and share the book. "River Reel" caused such an intense wave of emotion to wash over me, that I would be selfish to keep it myself!

I think it is time for me to release a few beloved novels into the wild, in the hopes that someone will find the treasured books, and fall in love with them just as I did.