I think I have been reading for as long as I can remember. Apparently I would read road signs out loud as a very small child on our Sunday afternoon family drives. Since then I have never missed an opportunity to read as much as I can, even if (being involved in the academic world) it's the kind of book that requires a pencil in hand to make notes as I go. Fantasy on retirement--owning a fabulous, personalised bookshop with resident cat in window, and good cheer and friends inside.

This BookCrossing activity is quite a wondrous phenomenon really. After meeting with total strangers (something my mother always warned be against) at the 2005 Brisbane Convention, I'm mulling over its potential as a movement to contribute something really great to the world. OK, so we love books and everything about them, but it's more than that. I think it's the downright simplicity of the idea and its potential to reach into the hearts and minds of others that I love ...even a pathway to peace? Nobel Prize stuff really if you think about it. Maybe I need to add "teach reading to people who can't" to my retirement plans ...