July 5, 2006
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A Very Special Message to BookCrossers
We're just going to copy here a wonderful message posted by KansasKiwi in the forum. Read on and you'll see why. A funny thing happened on the way to the coffee shop. Stopped at a red light. In front of me, a car with a BookCrossing license plate frame. (And here's me thinking this past year that I was the only active book fairy in this town.) Now, this is a dead-keen BookCrosser, I reckon. I must introduce myself. What to do? Follow her until she stops somewhere? Yes. (But she might think she's being stalked? Oh dear... No matter, the end will justify the means. Perhaps.) Two miles later I pull into the grocery store parking lot and almost fall over myself leaping from the car. The mystery woman greets me with a beaming smile. "You're a BookCrosser! That's so cool! I'm KansasKiwi! Who are you?" "I'm Ron Hornbaker's mom. Y'know, the man who started it all." You could have knocked me down with a feather. Anyway... yakkity-yakkity-yak for half an hour. What lovely lady she is! Ron's mom asked if I would "write something in that BookCrossing message place" to pass on a big thank you for the many prayers and kind thoughts that poured in when she had back surgery the beginning of May. She wants you to know she has recovered well, is completely free of pain, and fit enough to walk a mile every day. Not bad for a woman in her late 70s, eh what?!
Imagine BookCrossers
 "Do You Want to Know a Secret"? Last month, BookCrossers had a mission to "Come Together" and "All Together Now" say "You Say It's Your Birthday" to Paul McCartney in our SSM 36 Will You Still Need Me? Will You Still Read Me When I'm 64? Don't know if it was the subject or the timing, or what, but there were some truly fabulous releases, many of which were documented in the SSM Forum. They're all great, but a couple of our favorites include Get Back released by Moem at in front of the shop where John Lennon stole a harmonica in 1960 (the very same harmonica that can be heard on "Love Me Do"), John, Paul, George and Ben, released by GoryDetails in some local strawberry fields and charbono's release Paul McCartney, where we snagged this lovely image of Ballycumber parading across Abbey Lane. One more mention goes to Bookgirrl who has a fabulous photo she took of a release she did on May 21 at Strawberry Fields in New York City. Wow! Congratulations to all who played along. And if you're unsure about SSMs, click here for a hint and watch the front of the site or the Newsletter for the announcement of the next one. Until then, we say "Hello Goodbye".
Jump Over to the Supply Store in July
 When it gets this hot (in some hemispheres, anyway) we all need a little help keeping our cool. So for the month of July, all Sun Visors are on sale to the tune of 20% off! Grab one and enjoy Ballycumber's shade for just $11.95. Show off your tan with our Unisex or Women's Scoop-neck baby white t-shirts (or for our southern hemisphere friends show off your winter-white t's) and get a free leather key fob. Valid on any size, any style. Stay tuned for the next installment of great bargains and keep on 'Crossing! P.S. Any guesses who our smiling model is?
Jane Austen Takes a BookCrossing Journey
 One hundred copies of Jane Austen's Persuasion have started to travel, BookCrossing style, thanks to the Hampshire libraries in UK. The initiative, Huge Hampshire Read, kicked off in May to celebrate the 60th birthday of Penguin Classics and will run through 15 July. Read about it here. Why Hampshire? It was there that Jane Austen found inspiration to write such classics as Pride & Prejudice, Emma, Mansfield Park and Sense & Sensibility, and the world's literary landscape was forever changed. Want a glimpse of what the book is about? Here's a teaser: "Eight years ago, Anne rejected the man she loved because her friends and family persuaded her that he wasn�t rich or important enough. In all that time, she�s never found anyone to match Captain Wentworth � and now he�s back: successful, sophisticated and still single. Unfortunately for Anne, it�s his turn to reject her. With her snobbish father and spoiled sister always ready to embarrass her in polite society, Anne wonders if she�ll ever find the courage to follow her heart again." Thanks to neoliminal99 for alerting us to this event. Wings on us for a month!
Pjlareau: The Johnny Appleseed of BookCrossing
 Three years ago, BookCrossing was given a gift. It was then that pjlareau joined our site. Since then, he's been the Johnny Appleseed of BookCrossing, releasing nearly 20,000 books. Reading pj's bookshelf profile is a treat, for here you find a man with a passion for books. A self confessed bibliolitterer, he is also a retired librarian, devoted grandfather and releasing companion of catwing, his granddaughter. He has also sent many a book as trade, RABCK and outright gift to English & Language Arts teachers in his area. And recently, he and catwing were featured in a fabulous article. Add your congratulations and comments at this forum thread. Picture courtesy of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune, taken by Renee Jones Schneider
In The News
 Check out the following links for a bit of name-dropping of our favorite site:
- Caution: Book crossing; Escanaba Daily Press, Escanaba, MI, USA
- BookCrossing scores Four Stars on UK's thegoodwebguide.com
-
Man on a mission shares joy of reading, one book at a time Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune MN, USA
- Lire, lire, lire! Pour pleinement exister; 24 Heures, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Plus, there's been a BookCrossing-inspired mass magazine release by Wet Ink, a magazine devoted to new Australian writing. Folks in Adelaide, South Australia (home of our 2006 Australian Convention), were advised to to keep an eye out for copies of the magazine, read it, give it a home or set it free. Sounds familiar, eh? Thank to sodarkanddreamy for letting us know.
And several other papers have picked up and run articles previously mentioned here. If you know of an article you'd like us to consider sharing with the BookCrossing Community, let us know via our contact us link. Be sure to click the fourth option ("This is just FYI — no need to reply to me") and include "Newsletter" in the subject. Thanks muchly!
MUNZ: ITALIAN NATIONAL MEETUP!!
Then again: fun, fun, fun!!
by lizzyblack
When you hear talk about a MUNZ here in Italy, you can be sure it means that BCers are going to meet somewhere for a national Meetup. And that�s just what we did June 2-4. The Meetup took place in Viareggio, and was a great success!...
[read it all at http://www.bookcrossing.com/articles/2328]
A SERENDIPITOUS FIND
How one long-lost book found its way back to me
by scriptophobia
 My favorite part of BookCrossing is the mystery aspect; how does the book get from Point A to Point B, and what does it experience on its way? Recently, I found myself surprised and excited by the journey of a book that resurfaced in my life after years of absence....
[read it all at http://www.bookcrossing.com/articles/2330]
WHAT ARE THE ODDS?
You never know where your books will end up
by jink
Here is a true story of fate. I carried Burning Marguerite, by Elizabeth Inness-Brown with me to Japan, reading it on the long plane ride. I stayed in a large hotel catering to International clientele. I was attending a meeting where over 200 people from 17 countries, all who are able to speak English, were attending. One day when I went back to my room to get something in the middle of the conference, I decided that was a good time to release the book. I placed it carefully in a hidden alcove in the hotel....
[read it all at http://www.bookcrossing.com/articles/2331]
ROBOCUP CROSSING 2006
What does BookCrossing have to do with the RoboCup 2006?
by read-a-bit
Just a lot, I tell you....
[read it all at http://www.bookcrossing.com/articles/2337]
BOOKCROSSING TAKES COLLEGE CAMPUS BY STORM
Book fair an ideal venue for BookCrossing promotion
by goldmeg89, daughter of goldlis (goldlis)
Skimming the bulletin boards in San Antonio College's (SAC) Learning Center as I always did in my few spare minutes before German class, I stumbled across a flyer advertising the annual campus book fair. Book addict that I am, I scribbled the date onto my calendar. ...
[read it all at http://www.bookcrossing.com/articles/2340]
(German)
68 BOOKCROSSER, 4 TAGE, 800 B�CHER
Die dritte deutschsprachige Convention, Dresden 2006
by toshokanin, RikkiDD (toshokanin)
Nach T�bingen 2004 und Basel 2005 fand das gro�e BookCrosser-Treffen f�r die Schweiz, �sterreich und Deutschland dieses Jahr vom 25. � 28. Mai in Dresden statt. Insgesamt folgten 68 BookCrosser der Einladung....
[read it all at http://www.bookcrossing.com/articles/2344]
THEY SURVIVED WILD RELEASING IN THE WILD
1st annual Midwest BC Family Camp-out
by The Midwest BXers Camping Association (eireannaigh)
The 1st annual Midwest BC Family camp out was held June 23-25, at Kanopolis Lake, Kansas. Although only six BookCrossers came, we deemed it a success for our first year. ...
[read it all at http://www.bookcrossing.com/articles/2350]
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 |  211,709 (44%) |
| UNITED KINGDOM | 47,068 (10%) |
| CANADA | 33,221 (7%) |
| GERMANY | 31,688 (7%) |
| SPAIN | 23,978 (5%) |
| AUSTRALIA | 21,299 (4%) |
| ITALY | 15,320 (3%) |
| FRANCE | 10,227 (2%) |
| NETHERLANDS | 7,292 (2%) |
| PORTUGAL | 6,626 (1%) |
Top 10 Countries Last Week
| USA | 557 (37%) |
| UNITED KINGDOM | 221 (15%) |
| GERMANY | 98 (6%) |
| CANADA | 95 (6%) |
| AUSTRALIA | 64 (4%) |
| FRANCE | 44 (3%) |
| NETHERLANDS | 41 (3%) |
| SPAIN | 31 (2%) |
| ITALY | 29 (2%) |
| NORWAY | 26 (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...
 AF on a quest to find the best coffee and books in Charleston
http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/3994390
Just happened on this one as I was checking out the bookshelf of a new BCer in our area.
by kiptrix
a lovely bookcrossing experience
The Renfrew-Yoker ferry is an ancient piece of metal which chugs across a not-terribly-pleasant part of the Clyde, and steering it across the same 250 metre stretch must be one of the most incredibly boring jobs in the world. Still, it's handy for us cyclists and I left a book on the seat on my way to a BBQ on the other side of the river. Returning some hours later, one of the ferrymen approached me to take my ticket, clutching the book in his other hand. I 'fessed up to having left it there earlier, and he beamed at me- his 16 hour shift had gone in no time, he said, as he couldn't put the Ian Rankin book down. One of the other ferrymen had already asked to read it after him, and he plans to release it on holiday in Wales in a few weeks time. Another happy reader! http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/3936720
by pam99
UK Unconvention wild catches
Here's my first- left on my way to the UnCon yesterday morning. New member, too. http://bookcrossing.com/---/636391
by londonmet
look at this great catch for FancyHorse's husband (MrHorse, of course)
http://bookcrossing.com/---/4137075 I love that it was so fortuitous for the finder, although I wouldn't ever wish anyone an extra 7 hours in ANY airport!
by Antof9
It's found two more readers since, & is now roaming to Rome!
by Potok-fan
One of my sand-sculpture releases is caught...
http://bookcrossing.com/---/1901688 [I see that it's another "homing" book- I drove it all the way to the coast and now it's back to the next town over from me {grin}.] This was my other release at the sand-sculptures, with more pics- no catch on this one yet, though: http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/4144417
by GoryDetails
Mmmm... chocolate...
Saw this on the sidebar and it caught my attention. I love themed-releases, especially when the come with surprise delayed (very delayed) catches! http://bookcrossing.com/---/708324
Congrats nyisutter!
EDIT: mojosmom just posted the same. Sorry about the repeat!
by KateKintail
A journal entry from the book itself
A cute entry from an A/F:
http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/4031563
by bluenoser
Catches like these remind me why I'm a BookCrosser...
http://bookcrossing.com/---/3963064 I can't ask for more!
by geishabird
"Found today whilst waiting to see my awful doctor..."
My book was caught by fellow BCer Bandaids. Really pleased it brightened up her day! http://bookcrossing.com/---/3195118
by Anne-Elliott
After a long time without any journaled catches, I got three in one week!
And to make it even better, all three joined. http://bookcrossing.com/---/3734329
http://bookcrossing.com/---/3470554
http://www.bookcrossing.com/---/3576793
by awakeagain
Lovely catch for Kategory (almost 4 years)
From California to Spain- to Germany? http://bookcrossing.com/---/145467
by MaryZee
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