I have always had a problem letting go of books. For me they offer a form of security and an acknowledgment that I am far from the stupid person I had been depicted as a child. At the same time I am aware that I need to get rid of lots of clutter in my home to allow me to move forward in my life instead of stagnating. So when someone told me about Bookcrossing.com it fired my imagination, gave me inspiration to let go of old friends and get joy in doing so.
Each book registered has a unique number by which it can be tracked; if you find one you can enter that number online and it will show you the journey the book has enjoyed so far. Once you have read it, you can continue its journey by leaving it somewhere for someone else. It is fascinating to see how widely some of these books travel. To avoid confusion each book has a note attached saying "I"m not lost, take me home,' or "I have been released into the wild, take me home." The only restriction seems to be in how imaginative people can be in finding places to leave books to pass on. Apart from the usual waiting rooms I have heard of books found on buses, in schools, in parks and even held in the hand of one statue.
To add to the fun you can actively go searching for books by clicking on "release notes" where you can see which location a book has been released. Of course it breaks down when people fail to register their find or release but there are plenty of people eager to join in. Worldwide membership is now coming up to nearly one million and with around five million books so far released into the wild, this is one trend that seems here to stay.
