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May 12, 2005
[This occasional newsletter is sent to members of BookCrossing.com. See the bottom of this newsletter for simple removal instructions.]
2 Million Books and Counting!
The books registered ticker has rolled past the 2,000,000 mark. That's two million books that have been registered with BookCrossing! Wow! As the lady down the street used to say, "Who'da thunk it?" As a bit of perspective, BookCrossing.com was launched in April of 2001, and it took almost 3 years to reach 1 million books, which happened on April 11, 2004. Just thirteen months later, we've added our second million! BookCrossers across the world have scampered to Chit Chat, to the Dutch forum, to the German forum, and to Announcements to join the jubilee! And it was Farm Fatale: A Comedy of Country Manors, registered by TinkEsq that claims the title of number 2,000,000. So, don't forget your three R's: Read it, Register it and Release it. Wouldn't it be grand to someday have two million books in the wild???
Creativity Corner
There is no doubt about it. BookCrossers are a very talented crowd. As proof, we bring you labels created by two talents from Down Under. First, a flight of fancy created by AussieNisi. Next up, more labels from saine. If you're headed off to Brisbane, be sure to check her labels! She's got loads of others, too... Since one label was as wonderful as the next, we were hard pressed to pick just one to illustrate this little blurb. So instead, we invite you to
click here for the links to all the new labels and if you want, leave a comment! Remember, if you know of a creative BookCrossing venture, send a message (with "newsletter" in the subject) to us from our Contact form (use the "feedback" option), and we'll try to feature your find in a future edition.
Supply Store!
Fantastic deals are still available at the BookCrossing Supply Store! In case you've forgotten, we have:
 Caps for the head, books to be read.
Shirts to be worn, book plates to adorn.
Bookmarks, book strings, a year full of wings,
This and much more awaits you at the Store!
Greece is the Word! Over 60 new members and counting!
Apapsa let us know that the Greek magazine Epsilon, which comes with the large-circulation newspaper Eleftherotipia, has published an article written by Pari-greece. The article got lots of attention and the number of new members in Greece is rapidly growing! Many have joined the thread in the Introduce Yourself forum, asking us questions about how to register and release books, and some have already released their first books! Welcome all!
BookCrossing live on New Zealand's Campbell Live
Innes, from Auckland NZ, was interviewed on Campbell Live on TV 3 May 5. We're told that she said lots of great things about BookCrossing and mentioned the special release event going on at the moment to remember Bronwyn Tate, a New Zealand author who recently passed away. Innes released five books, one of which — Butler's Ringlet — was caught on the show!
The Aussies unveil....The Goodie Bag!
 We all want the answer to the big questions. What is the Meaning of Life,
the Universe and everything? (Well, all you Hitchhiker fans know
that one!) Some of us want the answer to the small things. Where is that lost sock, and where did I leave my keys? Then there is the ultimate question. All of you who couldn't make it to a Convention this year know what that question is: What's in the Convention Goodie Bag?
You might know that Brisbane has a population of 1.6 million and that the Heritage listed City Hall has a 92 metre clock tower, but there is more to know about Brisbane and the upcoming convention. Never let it be said that the Aussies keep secrets! They have decided to give a sneak preview of what's in......THE GOODIE BAG! Are you ready??? 1. The Convention Booklet with masses of great Convention Information
2. Brochures. 2005 Brisbane Guide, Map and What's On, Winter 2005
3. Bookmarks, Bookmarks and more bookmarks!
4. Convention Postcards. To send to all your BC friends!
5. 2005 Patches
6. Ballycumber Magnets
7. Chocolates
8. Book. Well, it is a Book Convention, and the books are accumulating on
the Bris-Con
bookshelf!
9. Bookplate labels and stickie notes for that releasing Frenzy!
10. Pen and jotter pad
11. Lollies (or sweets and candy)
12. Bottled water. This is tropical Queensland And here's the best item saved for last. It's the.... CONVENTION SURVIVAL
KIT! What fun! In a BookCrossing Release Bag Convention goers will find, amongst other things:
A safety pin, to hold themselves together when the excitement gets too much.
A Hug Voucher, because everyone needs one.
Two Band-Aids, for blisters because they're going to walk all over Brisbane.
A Mintie, because at moments like these you need.......a Mintie!
Sample Sun Lotion, because they're in sunny Queensland.
A Tea Bag, in case they find themselves in hot water!
Australian Bookcrossing Convention, 24-26 June 2005. See you there!
Vancouver In the News
Moirae alerted us to a fabulous event in Vancouver, BC that happened on 5 May. Four teacher-librarians and 15 senior students released 150 books as part of a 4-school initiative to connect classrooms, curriculum, kids, and community. As she said, "The 'whole world as library' theme was important for us, as was sharing the love of books. We spent the morning on a 'meetup' (sharing, planning, eating, and preparing) and then distribution over 10 or 12 blocks of this lively urban area. Our local TV station had a small feature which included the web address and shots of the labelled books. All books had been donated by local businesses, writers, publishers, or teachers and students at the schools. We were able to include a range of books, including poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and children's books. The most fun was discovering, on our return down the street, was that the books were gone! I was able to intervene as a mother told her small child to put a book back that he had found and she left thrilled with two suited-to-toddler reading tomes. It was fun and we're definitely doing it again next year." For more information on this initiative called "Drive on the Drive," you can look at the website here. What a fantastic idea!
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AN OBCZ PRIMER
Simple suggestions to get you going
by bookczuk (bookczuk)
Has the thought of establishing a Official BookCrossing Zone been rolling around in your BookCrossing brain? Perhaps you have pondered the famous words of an anonymous BookCrosser:
Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
Is there an OBCZ in the future for you?
There may be just the perfect spot in your town, but you haven't a clue where to begin. There is no hard and fast way to establish a Zone, but gathered in this article are helpful suggestions from various OBCZ Managers in several countries. ...
[read it all at http://www.bookcrossing.com/articles/1770]
THE 4 R'S OF BOOKCROSSING
Reading, Registering & Releasing are just the beginning
by Holly (kz4ufo)
There is another �R� to BookCrossing, one that is not mentioned often, yet is necessary to help our goal of making the entire world a library. That reclusive �R� is Recruiting....
[read it all at http://www.bookcrossing.com/articles/1763]
....WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM OXFORDSHIRE LIBRARIES!
Book Aid mass release - Libraries helped to cover the County
by Molyneux (Molyneux)
April was a quite a busy BookCrossing month for me here in Oxfordshire (as it was for all BookCrossers in the UK!). I was madly getting books ready for the mass release on April 18 to promote Book Aid International, frantically registering books and labelling them and then trying to work out how I was going to release them in all corners of Oxfordshire, the region I had rashly promised Netstation I would be responsible for! Ozone-nut had the Henley-on-Thames area sorted out, and akg would do the area around Didcot � but there was still the rest of the County to do. Then it dawned on me that I should make the most of my contacts in Oxfordshire Libraries. ...
[read it all at http://www.bookcrossing.com/articles/1772]
BOOKCROSSING: HOW IT RUINED MY LIFE
The sad story of a victim and addict
by WistfulDragon
I won't touch here on the state of my habitation - the piles of literature that cascade off every surface, sticky labels that cling to everything, plastic bags with garish logos that cause potential hazards to my cat....
[read it all at http://www.bookcrossing.com/articles/1773]
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 |  169,507 (47%) |
| UNITED KINGDOM | 28,062 (8%) |
| CANADA | 26,649 (7%) |
| GERMANY | 22,920 (6%) |
| SPAIN | 17,441 (5%) |
| AUSTRALIA | 16,252 (5%) |
| ITALY | 12,740 (4%) |
| FRANCE | 5,684 (2%) |
| PORTUGAL | 4,705 (1%) |
| NETHERLANDS | 4,474 (1%) |
Top 10 Countries Last Week
| USA | 719 (27%) |
| UNITED KINGDOM | 297 (11%) |
| SPAIN | 248 (9%) |
| GERMANY | 165 (6%) |
| GREECE | 141 (5%) |
| CANADA | 107 (4%) |
| NEW ZEALAND | 104 (4%) |
| FRANCE | 86 (3%) |
| MEXICO | 75 (3%) |
| AUSTRALIA | 72 (3%) |
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...
Scaredy Cat Saved From Pigeons
http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/2579189
by GoryDetails
My book has been caught in Poland!!!
It is the one that I mentioned in this forum thread
http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/ And here is the link to the book
http://bookcrossing.com/---/1019427 Can you see my smile: -)
by boreal
This just shows......
how for one person it's not their kind of book and a real find to another.
That's the joy of bookcrossing! http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/2623023
by Alive
"I said, 'look dad a book'"
Quite an enthusiastic one I got just today! And this kid has already registered a book too! http://bookcrossing.com/---/2782713
by Jare
"It waited quietly on a small glass table."
Nice catch for oneocean: http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/2804189 Hope the finder signs up- anybody who can write a journal entry like that really NEEDS to be a BookCrosser!
by GoryDetails
Finally, a catch after a drought!
http://bookcrossing.com/---/2760840 How nice, they think it's a "clever idea"!
by kiptrix
For a minute I thought this was a boomerang catch...
...which would have been appropriate- it was released by an Australian while visiting New York, and caught there by another visiting Australian: http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/2775136 But it seems it's going to Krakow next, so no boomerang here {grin}.
by GoryDetails
Missouri to Mexico in 2 years!
What a well travelled book! http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/701437 Edited to add link- oopsie!
by weebly
First-noel Just got a great catch....
http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/2748984
The finder has a great idea to try and get a grant to buy books so that school kids can read and release them! What a great idea!
This person might start a whole new generation of bookcrossers! Great job!
by Lati2de
If at first you don't succeed
try try again!
http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/2173899
by reddragonlady
I don't believe it !
Please don't inundate this poor newbie with pm's- I already pm'd her earlier today when I saw the release. But we can't buy catches, and she gets a catch same day on this- http://bookcrossing.com/---/2794787
by MaryZee
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Total: 356,968
Last Week: 2,707
Total: 2,004,618
Last Week: 22,750
We Lick 'Em So You Don't Have To
Get our 12th-edition Bookplate Labels featuring artwork promoting Book Aid International in a Release Kit with everything you need to release 25, 50, or 100 books!
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