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The Circle of RABCK Goes On

My first, and very rewarding, RABCK experience
by starrdust
May 26, 2006
I wrote the following on the Make A Friend RABCK Challenge thread, after finding out I was the lucky winner of the drawing made by SCOUT-FINCH, and thought it might be a good experience to share with a wider audience:

Oh my goodness! What a wonderful surprise to start off 2006 with ~ SCOUT-FINCH, that is so kind of you. I didn't even remember there would be a drawing for this. To me, it's the "icing on the cake" to a perfect RABCK experience. I 'caught' a wild release for the first time last year and discovered bookcrossing.com as a result, joining in June 2005. Then I discovered Release Challenges and found this was a fun way to motivate me to wild-release and also to get to know others through reading the forums. I bought Night Fall as a book to release in the Tick-Tock Challenge - only because the word "night" was in the title. I had never read a De Mille book before, but soon found myself totally absorbed in the story and because I hadn't finished reading the book when the Tick-Tock Challenge ended, it didn't get released (just had to finish reading it!).

Thought I'd save it for the 2006 Tick-Tock Challenge, but then started exploring the BookCrossing site and found out more about RABCKs (Random Acts of BookCrossing Kindness), which is a concept I love. So I got brave and did a search on Cliff's Wish List site to see who might be 'wishing' for Night Fall, and came up with Henk1977 in England. My husband is from England, so this felt like a good connection . . so I sent the PM for his address, which he responded to right away, and off went my book for its flight across the Atlantic.

Henk1977 was so appreciative in receiving it that it made me feel really good to have done a RABCK. But it didn't stop there . . . the next thing I knew, Henk1977 sent me a surprise RABCK in return, which arrived just before Christmas! It was a book and author I hadn't read before, and wasn't sure I would like, but because it was a gift I read it. And it was a very good read, so now I've discovered another new author as well! Then I passed it on to my husband to read, and he's now journaled the book and become a member too. Meanwhile, back in England, Henk1977's wife, michelle1977, also started reading Night Fall and loves this book too ~ so much in fact that she's now starting a bookring with it.

So that same book that I randomly purchased for a discount at COSTCO to release in a Challenge, will soon be heading to France, back to Canada, and who knows where else . . . all because of the concept of RABCKs. It seems to me, this is what BookCrossing is all about! I've discovered new authors, I've connected with new people, I've sent a book on an exciting journey around the world ~ and the circle of RABCK goes on.

Thank you, SCOUT-FINCH, for encouraging this RABCK sharing and for your generosity!

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