March 23, 2005
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Creativity Corner
We had a tie for clever release shots this week! So a tip of the old BookCrossing hat to mrdlcastle (and Mrs. dlcastle!) for this release of The Perfect Storm:
and to mississippimom for making us long to take a trip to a drive-in for a treat like this:
And we couldn't agree more, mississippimom...when you're a BookCrosser, every day is World Book Day!
2005 BookCrossing Patch available at Conventions
 The 2005 BookCrossing patch, designed by Thanksmom, will be available at the New Zealand, Fort Worth and Australian conventions and the BCUK Unconvention. Cost is $2.00 (US) each (donated to BookCrossing), and if any are left over, they will be offered through the forums.
New Zealand Convention almost here. Will you be there?
Friday 25 March, the Convention Begins! It's not too late to register. Contact Futurecat before 24 March, so that you can be included in some of the fabulous events planned (and get a goodie bag, too!) If you have any doubts that the New Zealanders have a top notch gig planned, check out some of these events:
Welcome meetup at the Dux de Lux restaurant,
Release Frenzy Walking Tour and Flashmob,Convention Dinner and Celebrity Debate, and even a
Mystery Bus Tour. Can't wait to hear how it goes!
Bookcrossing is hot, vinden de Nederlandse media
The Dutch media have recently discovered Bookcrossing makes good copy.
There have been articles in magazines and newspapers, radio interviews, and
even television coverage. On March 16, the Dutch television station RTL4
showed bookcrosser Moem releasing books live on air. The clip can be seen
here. The text on the page reads:
Roaming Books Ever seen a book lying around, just somewhere outdoors? Making you wonder
who left it there? It might be a book that found itself out on the street
because of Bookcrossing. Bookcrossing started in the United States and is getting increasingly
popular in the Netherlands. The idea is to put a book somewhere, anywhere,
and track it using the internet.
De Nederlandse media hebben recentelijk ontdekt dat Bookcrossing
interessant materiaal oplevert. Er zijn artikelen verschenen in kranten en
tijdschriften, er zijn radio-interviews uitgezonden, en zelfs televisie! Op
16 maart vertoonde RTL4 hoe bookcrosser Moem boeken losliet. Het filmpje is
hier te zien.
OBCZ Fever
They're popping up everywhere! Official BookCrossing Zones (affectionately called OBCZs). A quick glance at the OBCZ Managers forum led us on a trip round the world with stops in Northamptonshire and London, England, Dresden, Germany, Z�rich, Switzerland (just to name a very few of the new ones in Europe.) A few have started Down Under and several more at various points on the Western Shores of the Atlantic. (If you flunked geography because your head was in a book, that means North and South America!). OBCZ managers are encouraged to get their zone listed on one of the sites that collects the addresses and info or has an OBCZ Directory for a specific region. These can be found by following links at the BookCrossing Web Ring, maintained by yvi-1. So, if you've got the hankering to travel, don't forget to check and see if there is an OBCZ at your destination!
Turning pages for BBC's Page Turners
Remember when we told you that the Beep had discovered BookCrossing, and that host Jeremy Vine spent World Book Day (UK Style, that is...March 3) handing out books at the train station? Well, the Page Turner web site has a link to our favorite site! Click the link to BookCrossing, and you'll travel directly to the BBCPageturners bookshelf, where you, too, can track the books released that day.
Media Madness Continues
 Take the "message in a bottle concept" and apply it to books. Any book at all. That's the word from On the Net Now, of News 10 (NY). If you have windows media player, you can even view a handy "how to" video clip. And today's issue of Expressen, which we are told is the second biggest evening paper in Sweden, carried an article that starts "Folk & filbytare: Plantera en bok och sprid den i v�rldens st�rsta bibliotek. Sven Cahling ger en bruksanvisning till n�tbokklubben BookCrossing." We're not sure exactly what it says, but we hope it's good! As we see it "In The News," we'll try and bring it to you.
SECOND ANNUAL "CODY'S RELEASE" PLANNED FOR APRIL 6, 2005
In releasing books to honor my Dad, BCers create a worldwide celebration.
by Jenna Wims Hashway (fsr44)
We all have someone to thank for our love of reading. For me, it was my Dad, Louis V. Wims ("Cody" to his friends) who showed me the world of books. Before I was old enough to read, I'd sit next to him with a book in front of me, turning the pages whenever he did. My father had to leave school during the Depression to go to work to help support his family, but his lifelong learning never ended. He was the most voracious reader, and the smartest man I ever knew. He shared his love, his wisdom, his compassion and his books in equal measure. In short, he was everything you could want in a father or a friend. He would have loved BookCrossing, had he lived to see it....
[read it all at http://www.bookcrossing.com/articles/1675]
(Spanish)
MASCLET� DE LIBROS
140 libros o m�s liberados en Valencia
by Artax
El pasado domingo 13 de marzo, en El Parterre de Valencia nos reunimos un grupo de bookcrossers valencianos y estuvimos repartiendo entre los transe�ntes algo m�s de 140 libros....
[read it all at http://www.bookcrossing.com/articles/1668]
GIRLS CROSSING BOOKS
Girl Scout Troop 35 spreading the word
by UFOreader
A couple years ago, I learned of BookCrossing from a magazine article. I passed the word to my mom, Green-Leader. Soon, we were both registered and eagerly sorting through our vast collection of books for some that could be sent on their merry way....
[read it all at http://www.bookcrossing.com/articles/1676]
BOOKAPHOBIA ????
Or �Oh yeah, Those Odd Books Left Lying About�
by hotflash
So there I am, skulking behind a post, trying to not to look like an inefficient private investigator on a case, trying to be nonchalant and cool, while glancing every few minutes in the direction of my recently released book. I catch my breath as one woman stops, looks, bends over, reads the bright pink �I�m Not Lost, Take Me Home� label, and then, AND THEN, she just keeps on going! What??? No! Surely she can�t just leave it lying there, can she? Why would someone pass up a chance to pick up a free book? I repeat, A FREE BOOK ! I wanted to run after her yelling, �Lady, wait, it�s a BOOK, a free book, do you not understand what you just did? Wait !! What�s the matter lady? Do you have bookaphobia or something?�...
[read it all at http://www.bookcrossing.com/articles/1678]
CONFESSIONS OF A MOTHER CROSSER
Thanks for helping me off the shelf!
by Heather Pedersen (heather)
BookCrossing. It fills my days, and most of my nights, too. I am intimate with the inner workings, the behind the scenes actions, the highs and the lows, the daily grind and the milestones. I know all-too-well the scurrying it takes to get things done and the sighs of relief when something turns out well. I won't say that I live, sleep and breathe BookCrossing, but over the past 4 years, I feel like I have 4 children- three flesh and blood, and one internet baby. If Ron is BookCrossing�s Founding Father, and Bruce is BC�s Son of a Buck (speaking tongue in cheek as the CFO and wife), then I am most definitely the site�s Working Mother!...
[read it all at http://www.bookcrossing.com/articles/1683]
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 |  164,226 (48%) |
| CANADA | 25,753 (8%) |
| UNITED KINGDOM | 25,464 (7%) |
| GERMANY | 21,829 (6%) |
| SPAIN | 16,541 (5%) |
| AUSTRALIA | 15,424 (5%) |
| ITALY | 12,495 (4%) |
| FRANCE | 4,949 (1%) |
| PORTUGAL | 4,536 (1%) |
| NETHERLANDS | 4,157 (1%) |
Top 10 Countries Last Week
| USA | 684 (37%) |
| UNITED KINGDOM | 273 (15%) |
| GERMANY | 158 (8%) |
| CANADA | 132 (7%) |
| NETHERLANDS | 100 (5%) |
| AUSTRALIA | 79 (4%) |
| SPAIN | 73 (4%) |
| FRANCE | 50 (3%) |
| SWEDEN | 33 (2%) |
| PORTUGAL | 29 (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...
From the USA to the UK in 9 months
http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/1425814
edit: and it's already back in the USA!
by owlet
Benjamin Bunny read out loud in a homeless shelter
I was hesitant to let this book go, but the response I received today was utterly beautiful. Within a couple hours of release I was informed that it had been taken to a homeless shelter and read out loud to the other people there. I couldn't have hoped for a better journey. http://bookcrossing.com/---/770233
by prilya
Wow! My last wild release was caught & journaled within an hour!
Hooray! I dropped this off around 1 pm and around 2 pm I had an email it had been journaled! http://bookcrossing.com/---/2594041
by alrescate
Might be my favorite catch, ever.
http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/325249 Great to be in Columbia, Maryland.
by LarkOnapost
UK-Amsterdam-USA!
Great catch for hellie. Lovely book too! http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/
by Anne-Elliott
NEVER give up hope!
http://bookcrossing.com/---/675043
by PrettyPoodle
Book caught by a photoblogger!
Here are the release notes: http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/?... And here's what happened to the book: http://zipzap.buzznet.com/user?---
by annulla
First time I had a catch like this
It's not anything totally unusual, but just unusual for ME, and this QUICK, too. I've had a couple of wild releases caught, but by Anonymous Finders. This one was caught by someone who joined! (Yay!!!) AND- it was caught the same day I released it. :-D It's just nice not having to be patient sometimes! lol http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/2562032
by Bunnybee
Another "yes" vote for charity shop releases.
http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/2487902
by Megi53
"Think bookcrossing is the most wonderful idea "
http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/2597535 Come on, new member! ::Crosses fingers::
by erulissenen
Stuck in a bookcrossing rut? Seeking guidance for your next wild book release safari? Here are some fresh ideas posted by members in our Release Challenges forum to whet your adventure appetite. And if you can think of other timely or unique challenges, post them to the forum and you may see them here in the next newsletter!
Easter Challenge - children's books at Sunday School
by SerenityBlue
Andre Norton - In Memoriam (and now a challenge)
by TechBear
Worldwide Release Callenge at IKEA Shops in April
by Raffizack
Long-lost friend challenge
by funsour
Our forums offer hundreds of new topics each day. Here are a few recent ones you don't want to miss... jump right into the conversations!
What character from what book would you like to spend an afternoon with?
started by WingedMan in Book Talk
Today is my 1st BC birthday and here is what I have done in that year:
started by tyvmdear in Announcements
Do we trade books w/ one another? Or, just do releases?
started by Fuzzydot in Newbies
Help, please! - Book Donations: TAJIKISTAN
started by MunJo in Announcements
Welcome New BookCrossers! Unofficial mentoring site is available for your use (English, Dutch, German versions up, more coming)
started by nekki2976 in Newbies
Have you recently discovered an exciting new author? Tell us about him/her!
started by SqueakyChu in Book Talk
What's the best book you've read so far in 2005
started by delvian in Book Talk
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