June 16, 2005
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BookCrossing founders meet Vint Cerf at 2005 Webby Awards
BookCrossing's founders met up in New York City June 6th to accept two awards at the 2005 Webbys. One of our 5-word acceptance speeches, "With books, don't be shelfish," made the short-list in the Webby's press release for the event. Meeting Al Gore was okay, but the real star (in our minds anyway) was one of the founding fathers of the internet, Vint Cerf, who was gracious enough to pose with us for a picture. Here's Bruce, Heather, and Ron with Vint and his wife, Sigrid:
Vint and the Pedersens were the only people at the event in traditional Indian dress... coincidence? Showing some of the beauty of New York's Gotham Hall, here's another shot of Bruce, Heather, Ron, and Kaori:
Thanks for this honor go directly to you, our members. We wish you all could have been there with us... you were certainly in our thoughts. As a sidenote, Ron and Kaori released The Catcher in the Rye at 45th St. and 8th Ave in Times Square, but alas, it hasn't yet been journaled.
BookCrossing as Contemporary Archaeology
Christine Finn — writer, journalist, archaeologist and BookCrosser rometome (is that "rome tome" or "rome to me"???) — has given us a mention at her Stanford archaeology forum site. As an archaeologist, her take on BookCrossing is great! Plus, we got a glimpse of the Italian get-together:
I recently joined the Rome bookcrossing group, and travelled cross-country last weekend to meet up with other Italian bookcrossers at their annual get-together by the sea at Alba Adriatica. More of a social event, for me, as a new member (and yet to release my first book) I was more interested in the whys and wherefores...title of members' first release, where released, whether found and followed up. It's quite addictive, but most members have released dozens of books and simply can't remember. At the Saturday meal, piles of books were brought out for crossing with other members. There was an Italian version of Around the World in Eighty Days which I thought an apt title for a book on the move.
She goes on to say she's now inspired to do some themed releases. "To Kill a Mocking Bird will probably end up in the Rome zoo, while The Lovely Bones on its first flight, is destined for a catacomb..." We will certainly watch with interest how this contemporary archaeologist continues to interact with BookCrossing. (And the Newsletter team have just put Artifacts: an Archaeologist's Year in Silicon Valley on their wish lists!)
ABC on ABC!
Neesy was up bright and early the other day for an interview with Tricia Duffield, of ABC Brisbane Radio. Apparently Tricia and Steven Austin (another ABC Radio presenter) were discussing a book they saw on a bench, and many people called in to tell them about BookCrossing. That got them interested, and the rest is radio history. We're hoping there'll be links or an mp3 file soon, but either way, we bet Neesy did a grand job and got a mention or two about the upcoming Australian BookCrossing Convention!
Supply Store Steals: Glasses Lanyard and Leather Key Fob
 Never lose your glasses again! Keep your reading and sunglasses safely and conveniently around your neck with our exclusive BookCrossing Glasses Lanyard. Beautiful black sturdy nylon imprinted with your favorite BookCrossing site logo and URL in BC yellow! Makes a great ponytail holder, too!
 And dress up your keys with our Leather Key Fob. Made of a teardrop shaped of black leather with the BC URL stamped in gold, and an easy-to-spot yellow enamel, book-on-the-go charm. Add a little "running book" life to any set of keys! Be sure to "shop on by" the Supply Store for other fabulous BookCrossing goodies and release supplies. Thanks so much for supporting BookCrossing!
Contest Updates
We've had some absolutely marvelous ideas submitted for our Postcard Contest! There's still room for more, so be sure to check the rules and keep 'em coming! Though we got sidetracked by the Webby awards, we haven't forgotten our PantsCrossing promises. We're still keeping an eye on the Book Talk Forum chats about Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Thanks to Warner Bros. we have some goodies which we'll be giving away at random in our Book Talk forum to members who post the best messages (reviews, thoughtful insights, etc.) about the movie or the book. And finally, we haven't forgotten about the shopping spree winners...It's been tougher than we thought to whittle down the winners. Hopefully we'll have them by press-time for this newsletter or next.
BOOKCROSSING DISCOVERED
by Bernie Crisp (Berniec)
I was happily surfin' the net one day, When an extraordinary site came my way. What was this? Catching and releasing a book? Didn't quite understand, so thought I'd take a look. Excitem
[read it all at http://www.bookcrossing.com/articles/1814]
SHE WAS ALREADY A BOOKCROSSER ...
but she didn't even know it!
by crrcookie
This is the story of how I met a woman on a train who was a practicing BookCrosser and she didn't even know that BookCrossing existed....
[read it all at http://www.bookcrossing.com/articles/1816]
CALL FOR WRITERS
Want to write for BookCrossing? If your article is accepted, you could see it featured here in the next newsletter. What topics do we need? Anything about books, reading, or BookCrossing — tutorials, release and catch stories, well-traveled book stories, funny BookCrossing experience stories — you get the idea. Write it up, then submit it here:
http://www.bookcrossing.com/articles/submit
Top 10 Countries All-Time
| USA |  173,318 (47%) |
| UNITED KINGDOM | 29,576 (8%) |
| CANADA | 27,196 (7%) |
| GERMANY | 23,602 (6%) |
| SPAIN | 17,817 (5%) |
| AUSTRALIA | 16,738 (5%) |
| ITALY | 12,961 (4%) |
| FRANCE | 6,030 (2%) |
| PORTUGAL | 5,246 (1%) |
| NETHERLANDS | 4,783 (1%) |
Top 10 Countries Last Week
| USA | 704 (34%) |
| UNITED KINGDOM | 267 (13%) |
| GERMANY | 132 (6%) |
| CANADA | 108 (5%) |
| AUSTRALIA | 102 (5%) |
| MEXICO | 100 (5%) |
| FRANCE | 76 (4%) |
| SPAIN | 68 (3%) |
| PORTUGAL | 50 (2%) |
| NETHERLANDS | 49 (2%) |
Wild books released by our members are being caught all over the world, every day! Our site watch forum is where members post news of great wild book catches. Here are some of the best from the last few days...
 woo hoo another catch
from St Lambert to Lake George
http://bookcrossing.com/---/2821915
by varykino
Nice catch for john-g, a year and change later...
http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/1412282
by GoryDetails
Got my first ever "recaught" book!
I was so excited that this book was journaled 2 months after I released it. Someone obviously caught and re-released it without journaling originally, but then it was caught by AF who re-released it yet again, leading to a second AF catch and journal! So, really, three catches and two journal entries. (did that make any sense at all?) Too bad it is such a lousy book. :) http://bookcrossing.com/---/2145896
by Shadie
A not enthusiastic review... oh well, you can't please everyone. I liked the book
http://bookcrossing.com/---/2871821
Come to think of it, maybe it was caught by our waitress. We felt the same way about her service, as expressed by a zero tip from 3 customers.
by solittletime
'maybe I should read it to the end'
http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/2919076
by Mastulela
"my first experience with a bookcrossing book"
One of my Gay Pride releases caught! http://bookcrossing.com/---/2803884
by Jare
Ahhh... AF's mother left him a Bookcrossing book...
http://bookcrossing.com/---/1848668 I hope Biobooks responds... since there's no other way to talk to that AF...
by Greyflank
How nice--the AF feels a responsibility for the found book.
http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/2924332
by kiptrix
Many places ...
http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/
by tania-in-nc
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