August 25, 2005
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A Few Bookish Sites
One nice thing about BookCrossing is that a wide variety of folks drop by the site to visit. Some stick around and join, some just let us know they've seen us and liked us. Some even send fan mail! We thought we'd pass on to you some of the interesting bookish sites that have come to our attention via our email bag. We can't feature all the ones who have contacted us, but here's a smattering you can try. WorthyRead, a literary blog that publishes reviews of the many worthy books that are published every day but remain obscure for lack of exposure. "At Worthy Read we know that many readers are not content with the few good books that reach the newspaper reviews. Our aim is to give these literary enthusiasts a wider choice, by seeking out worthy, famous and obscure, new or old books." The Compulsive Reader offers a fascinating collection of book reviews "by some of the hottest writers working today, exclusive author interviews, literary news and criticism." New kid on the block is BookWired.com, which opened July 1, 2005, to give free publicity to writers, authors and publishers as well as their sites. The site offers interviews, news, FYI and tutorials for writers, authors and publishers seeking free publicty.
Get Tagged With Our Newest Book Plate
 BookCrossing is happy to announce our new 13th edition bookplate labels, Taglines, by BookCrossing member and artist, Amy Francisconi. These wonderful bookplates officially go on sale August 24 in the Supply Store. (And while you're ordering, why not pick up a package of our BookCrossing Postcards, with illustrations by the same artist!)
A Zone Away From Home
Searching for a place to find a book or drop one off while traveling? Don't forget to check out the handy dandy OBCZ World Map. We mentioned it before, whilst it was still in its infancy, but this OBCZ Finder has grown leaps and bounds since then! It provides a list of all the Official (and Unofficial) BookCrossing Zones in the world. If you know of one that isn't shown there you can send the details using the link on the left sidebar at the site. Oodles of thanks to Netstation for the creation of this fab resource.
What's Hot in the Store
 The Supply Store has all kinds of release supplies and fabulous togs for BookCrossers anywhere. We've added a really sharp-looking black visor to the headgear already available on the site. And there are shirts in a whole gamut of colors and styles for you to choose.
Our Book Plates, Release Stickies and other Release Supplies are really something special. Stop on by and fill your shopping basket today! Remember, some of our pricing is changing at the end of the month.
In The News
 "Free books. (No, really)" Well — that title on an article in the The Truth Online Edition really caught our eye when out on the web the other day. It's a great story about the OBCZ at The Daily Grind, in Elkhart, Indiana. Phillycarol also mentioned that there was a small piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer and has kindly posted the text in the Announcements Forum for those of us not signed up for that paper.
Reports from Finland and England that BookCrossing made television there, but no links to the broadcasts as of yet. Our question is what were BookCrossers doing watching television when there are so many incredible books out there to read and release?! (Thanks sobergirl and weebly! We're just teasing you — all we have to do is look at your shelves to be in awe of how much you read!) There also have been several re-plays of various pieces in North America, so keep your eyes (and ears) out. You never know where BookCrossing will come up next! And in a real case of "It wasn't us, honest!", BookCrossing the site has gotten confused with bookcrossing the noun. There was nary a copy of the book in question registered on the site when the UK Independent Online article came out. Just thought you'd like to know.
WHERE EVERYBODY DOESN'T KNOW YOUR NAME:
A story of Starbucks, BookCrossing, and random acts of kindness
by Jill Bergkamp (jillmari3)
Nine months ago my family moved to Florida from California. My husband drove a 17 ft. U- Haul with our best friend across the states, with everything we thought we needed to start a new life. We hoped we�d finally be able to buy a home -- maybe even have a backyard for our sons to play in. We went through several hurricanes, tropical storms, and geckos at the dinner table (yes, it�s true). I found the adjustment to be harder than I thought, and struggled to get up in the mornings and face the humidity. A friend suggested I try a cup of coffee at Starbucks. I had always been a tea drinker, never touched the stuff before, but soon realized that the tall vanilla latte had just what I needed to get through the days. ...
[read it all at http://www.bookcrossing.com/articles/1824]
A BOOKISH LIFE
Confessions of a Biblioholic
by Mary-Joe
I could blame it on my mother who started reading to me as soon as I emerged from the dark warmth of her womb. Books surrounded us in our home, with bookshelves even in the basement! I was introduced to the local library when I was about 4 years old and became the proud possessor of my first library card when I was 5. ...
[read it all at http://www.bookcrossing.com/articles/1878]
RELEASES INTO THIN AIR
A partly fictional account
by MrBones
It was a fine Sunday morning when we set out to climb the "H�uselhorn"(2284m) in the Austrian Alps. Our group consisted of me, a friend of mine and our two little climbing buddies Bally1 and Bally2....
[read it all at http://www.bookcrossing.com/articles/1932]
FROM PARIS, TEXAS TO PARIS, FRANCE
One author's vicarious thrills over well-traveled books
by Cindi Myers (CMyersTex)
Confession time here. As an author, I periodically log on to BookCrossing to see how my books are doing. One of the few thrills of this solitary writing life is finding out people are actually reading your words, and passing them on to others. What�s out there this week, and where? Who�s reading the books and what are they saying?...
[read it all at http://www.bookcrossing.com/articles/1940]
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 |  181,405 (46%) |
| UNITED KINGDOM | 35,153 (9%) |
| CANADA | 28,358 (7%) |
| GERMANY | 25,189 (6%) |
| SPAIN | 18,336 (5%) |
| AUSTRALIA | 17,730 (5%) |
| ITALY | 13,257 (3%) |
| FRANCE | 6,609 (2%) |
| PORTUGAL | 5,514 (1%) |
| NETHERLANDS | 5,273 (1%) |
Top 10 Countries Last Week
| USA | 726 (29%) |
| UNITED KINGDOM | 711 (28%) |
| GERMANY | 186 (7%) |
| CANADA | 154 (6%) |
| AUSTRALIA | 87 (3%) |
| FRANCE | 60 (2%) |
| NETHERLANDS | 55 (2%) |
| SPAIN | 52 (2%) |
| FINLAND | 48 (2%) |
| ITALY | 30 (1%) |
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...
 A journal entry for a book I never thought would get journaled!
I had bookcrossed a few of my college books that I thought people would be interested in reading (mostly history, English, and anthropology) and one of the bookcrossed books ended up in the stack I was selling back to the bookstore (in Washington DC) (mostly bulky textbooks like econ and calc). At any rate, I never thought it would be journaled and here it is, in Connecticut!
http://bookcrossing.com/---/2805673
by mepwave
Sometimes you just have to wait a while :o)
http://bookcrossing.com/---/1400965
by rarsberry
Greek epic checks in and gets a new member!! Woo hoo.
http://bookcrossing.com/---/571921
by Adia415
A sweet entry from a mom...
I got lucky and had another nice journal entry....it sounds like my book is part of a nice memory. http://bookcrossing.com/---/2721949
by alrescate
bookcrossing match making?
Caught two years later. ..
the book is still in her possession as is her date the day she found it. http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/685923
by bookhogger
"This is so nice" - well-traveled book caught in Mississippi
http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/1828990
by GoryDetails
great journal entry by AF just popped up on recently caught
http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/3010344
by RockDg9
this book has been wild released and wild caught 5 times!
http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/502695
by valentina1209
A classic-registered, released and caught on the same day!! ;-)
http://bookcrossing.com/---/3165417
by zizzr
One of my books is doing the convention circuit!
Check this out- I released it at Noreascon, and since then it's been to WorldCon and GenCon: http://bookcrossing.com/---/1969801 And, at four journalers, it's now my "personal best" for wild-release-hops...
by GoryDetails
I got TWO journal entries on a wild release, even before I could make release notes
http://bookcrossing.com/---/ I'm so happy!
by littleacorn
a wild release thats been all over the place
and only just got its first catch entry a year later!
i left this on 5th avenue last year at AIDSWALK
http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/1647626
was just making a few more posts tonight at 2 am before heading to sleep, and i happen to notice the title in the recently caught side box. its a book on my shelf, and sometimes when i see a title thats interesting or one i have, i'll take a peek at the recently released/caught to see what others thought of the same book....but i had no idea when i clicked the box that i was clicking on MY OWN BOOK!!! :D)))
ROFL!!!
by danadoodle
Fantastic journal entry!
I released 'Shoeless Joe' at the local Double-A ballpark back in April. A wonderful person found it and has made an entry! They are even going to carry on the 'baseball' theme and release it at Busch Stadium at a St. Louis Card game! Whoo-hoo! http://bookcrossing.com/---/1554659
by alrescate
Another AF with a lot of humor!
http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/3060478
"I knew its one weakness, it was an inanimate object" LOL
by owlet
Successful themed release for guinaveve!
http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/2246013 Nice spot!
by kiptrix
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