Sneakeasy's Joint

BookCrossing Inspires Poetry

A couple of my fellow BookCrossers have said in verse what BookCrossing means to them, and what it is all about:

book crossing a head

i was surfing the web
seeking books for my daughter
when to my surprise
i found in short order

a site that was based on
this curious thought
books can freely be given
not merely be bought

at first blush the notion
stood the world on its head
i read through the pages
with some sense of dread

for surely this concept
would create a schism
between sharing ideas
and capitalism

it's true that i frequent
the local library
so to borrow a book
is not at all scary

but this seems quite different
releasing a tome
out into the wild
quite freely to roam

without payment or credit
without return date
just bound to the mysteries
of fortune and fate

with no strings attached
just a simple i.d.
so the finder might tell
of their joined destiny

and if they so choose
pay back kindness in kind
freeing not just a book
but also a mind

'twas then i remembered
what first brought me here
my searching out tales
for my daughter to hear

in caring for her
i have learned to my pleasure
that life's greatest gift
is a love without measure

and after some thought
i'm compelled to agree
this realization
should hold more widely

whether at random
or through planned exchange
by chapter and verse
the world can be changed

so now into action
this thinking is led
and i'm sure that i see
a book crossing a head

perhaps one fine morning
i'll set out to free 'em
beside an art gallery
inside a museum

at park benches, cafes
on playgrounds at schools
at concerts and movies
and even bar stools

to all the book crossers
(those likewise inclined)
i hope in this process
much joy you will find

just say to a skeptic
if ever they see ya
you're simply embracing
a novel idea

let no one dissuade you
if this you believe
that truly 'tis better
to give than receive

and hold fast this adage
both simple and true
do unto others
as you'd have done to you

by robert-n-kate

BookCrossing Celebrates 4 Million Registered Books!

Just over 6 years ago one of the most respected, and popular, Online Communities was born, and this week saw a major milestone achieved.

CEO Scott Sorochak made the announcement:

BookCrossing members have now registered over 4,000,000 books since the site began just over 6 years ago. Think about that for a second.

That’s over 55,000 books per month over a 6-year period that have been registered in over 130 countries worldwide…and I do mean worldwide.

Some notable releases: the Statue of Liberty, the Great Wall of China, Buckingham Palace, Stonehenge, the Pyramids, the Arctic Circle and even Mt. Everest's base camp.

To learn who Registered the 3,999,999th, and 4 Millionth books, and what those books were, go here.  ;-D

Recently I reached a couple of Milestones myself.

I joined BookCrossing in February 2005, and have Registered 113 Books, and Released 106 into the Wild.

100th Registered Book = A Romance of Billy-Goat Hill by Alice Hegan Rice. ( Published in October 1912!! ) ( See Photo of the Book! )

100th Book Released into the Wild = Unhinged: Exposing Liberals Gone Wild by Michelle Malkin.

Released outside the gate of FOX Studio in Los Angeles, CA. ( See Photo! )

Making friends around the world thru BookCrossing

In 2004 BookCrossing Member Mojosmom wrote an article;

Yes, it's true. For too long, I dithered around, wanting to study Italian but never signing up for a class. Then I found BookCrossing, and now I am happily learning la lingua d'amore. What's the connection? The Italian language forum! One of the reasons I put off taking a class was that I had no place to practice; now I hang out in that forum, and on the Italian Mirror Site as well, reading and occasionally even posting. What a warm welcome I've had there! No one laughs at my mistakes, but, knowing I'm a student, they politely correct me. And so I learn.

This is just one of many examples of BookCrossing's contributions to international friendships and understanding. Whether or not this was in Ron's mind when he created the site, for me it has been an unlooked-for pleasure. I have learned so much about other countries ( who knew what "root" meant in Australia! ), and have made new friends and sent my books all over the globe.

Read: STUDIO L'ITALIANO CON BOOKCROSSING! - Making friends around the world through BookCrossing.

MY BOOKSHELF.

If you are inspired to join use SNEAKEASY as your referrer. ;-D

BookCrossing Good for Authors

In 2004 Author, and BookCrosser, Kathryn Lively, wrote an article:

During my time BookCrossing, I have followed a number of threads in the forums about authors who disparage the concept of "freeing" books, claiming that potential revenue is lost if people don't buy the books outright. Since my books are not published by any Giant New York Publishing Houses, I am happy for even the slightest notice, even from a BookCrosser who happens to find my book in a coffee shop or a bus terminal. If the person rescues and reads the book, there's the possibility he/she will recommend it to others, etc. I believe the authors who disparage BookCrossing.com are missing the point of the site's concept - to promote literacy, and in turn promote authors. As a BookCrossing.com member, I have been introduced to a number of authors I had not before read, and I have since bought other titles by them. I am sure I am not the only BookCrosser doing this.

To any authors who may read this, do not look upon BookCrossing.com as theft, but as something with the potential to bear fruit for your careers....

Read: BOOKCROSSING A BOON, NOT BANE, FOR AUTHORS - Authors need not fear the karma of free books.

MY BOOKSHELF.

If you are inspired to join use SNEAKEASY as your referrer. ;-D

Serendipity and BookCrossing

In 2004, BookCrossing member Amy Coxe wrote an article:

The value of the media coverage that has helped BookCrossing membership explode recently cannot be overstated. Infinitely more inspiring and enchanting, however, are the stories of the serendipitous discovery of this wonderful online library and community. The people that find out about BookCrossing by actually catching a wild release are truly fortunate. What follows is only one of these stories....

Read: GOT KARMA? How I discovered BookCrossing.

MY BOOKSHELF.

If you are inspired to join use SNEAKEASY as your referrer. ;-D

Official BookCrossing Zone Opens in Orange, CA.

Bookcrossing.

As the site says: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single release."

In April 2001 Ron Hornbaker launched a website to share his love of a good book.

The idea is a simple one: Read a book, then instead of tossing it in the trash, giving it to the library, or to a friend, or relative, pass it on to a total stranger!

Do this by leaving it on a park bench ( See picture below: You can't see it but I left a book in a bag, on the bench in the backround, the morining of the 26th. ), in the breakroom at work, on a bus, or train seat, in an office waiting room, a public restroom, or in any number of other public places where the little, or not so little, darling will be found.

Outfitted with a special bookplate, tracking number, and a note explaining the concept so the next person will know what to do if so inclined, the book can be tracked as it randomly travels from city to city, and even nation to nation, around the world.

Over 550,000 people have "released" over 3 million books "into the wild", and the term "bookcrossing" has its own category in the Google Directory, and is listed in the Concise Oxford English Dictionary.

There are over 32,000 members in CA., and 118 in Orange alone! ;-D

When a book is "Caught" the finder follows notification instructions, and can leave a journal entry, and the person who released the book can get notified by e-mail about the books latest encounter.

The best way to get a feel for what I am talking about is to visit MY BOOKSHELF, and explore the entries for Books that are "Travelling", and the website itself.

One of the many fun aspects is that you can be a "Hunter".

There have been over 1800 books "Released into the Wild" in CA., with 69 in Orange, in the last 30 days, including a few in the last 3 days.

There is a list of countries with books "in the wild." After registering and releasing a book, members have the option of making Release Notes, specifying where exactly (or approximately) they left a book.

People leave books in public, and even not so public spots.

There are actually people traipsing around looking for a particular book! ;-D

Some people have set up what we call Official BookCrossing Zones....

And that has what has finally arrived in Orange County with the 1st such location having opened April 26th during the soft opening of the new Chapman Coffee House just north of Old Towne.

Milestone as BookCrosser Reached

Later this month will see my 2 year anniversary as a member of BookCrossing.

Yesterday saw me reach a milestone, and it was all thanks to those readers of this blog who clicked on that special link in the Left Sidebar.

Books registered  65 all-time, 0 during last seven days 
Released in the wild  66 all-time, 8 during last seven days 
Releases caught  8 
Books found  2 
Tell-a-friend referrals  500 all-time, 3 during last seven days 
New member referrals  1 all-time, 0 during last seven days

Only 1 New Member Referral, though!

Technically the number is 2, but when my friend, Susan, died, a few months after joining, without becoming active, I apprised Management of the situation, and all trace of her was removed.

These totals are since 2/27/2005.

Not sure where that puts me in comparison to members who have been there since the beginning, but I is damn proud that the link on this Blog, and my frequent writing about My Adventures in BookCrossing, and those of others, over the years, have made so many people curious enough to at least take a look around.

I am curious though if any of the other 498 actually DID become members, and just forgot to list me as the Referrer? ;-D

Remember who initiated ya, folks!!! ;-D

The name is Sneakeasy! ;-D

Beginning this month I will be writing more on BookCrossing, and updating you on the books I've Released over that last few months.

There are some great stories to share. ;-D

Again, thanks for showing an interest in Bookcrossing! ;-D

Christmas and BookCrossing in New Zealand

It has been almost 4 months since I lasted posted about BookCrossing!

I have some catching up to do!

This year I plan to add to my archive of posts, that I call Adventures in BookCrossing, by posting about my Releases, and Catches, sharing news about Bookcrossing, and some of the great BookCrossing related articles written by my fellows over the years.

The big thrill for me, as a BookCrosser, came in early April when I was interviewed by a reporter for the local paper, for a May sidebar to a March AP Story, and then the AP Reporter responded to an E-mail I sent!

I used the platform of this Blog to elaborate on the reporting of the original story in hopes of spreading the word about BookCrossing.

Anyway, to begin the new year, I thought I'd share a short report on how the folks down under celebrated Christmas:

Seems there's a Christmas Eve tradition among BookCrossers there to gather in and decorate the Christmas tree. According to FutureCat, "This was the second time we've made a Christmas booktree, so we were all well organised with plenty of Christmas-themed books ( Everything from biblical stories to barbecue recipes to romances with "Christmas" in the title — about 80 books in total, I think )".

A bit more on the story can be read here.

FutureCat's FULL report can be read here, on her Blog. ;-D

As of this morning begins there are 523,325 BookCrossers around the world.

This closenit, award-winning, Community has collectively registered 3,617,270 books, in almost 6 years.

Join the fun, through the link in my left sidebar, and say Sneakeasy referred you. ;-D

Army of Davids Copy Begins Bookcrossing Journey

Way back in April I was the 1st, and only person, to register a copy of Glenn Reynolds new book at BookCrossing.

5 months later that still holds true, and thus I became, last week, the 1st person to Release a copy of An Army of Davids in "The Wild". ;-D

1st, though, for those un-familiar with the phenomenon that is BookCrossing an explanation is in order:

( FROM OXFORD CONCISE ENGLISH DICTIONARY: Bookcrossing: n. the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise. ) has 499,152 157 162 members, and  3,370,636 653 664 REGISTERED books, as of the moment I finish writing, and posting this entry ( Between 1230am and 1am PST ), in this year that celebrates the 5th Birthday of the Webby Award winning Community, and Movement.

I have been a member for over a year, and a half, and have written about the movement often, in that time, in an archive I call Adventures in BOOKCROSSING.

In my left sidebar is a gateway to the Community, and links to special, member created, websites related to BookCrossing as well. ( If you eventually decide to join I would be honored if you indicate Ol' Sneakeasy was the one who referred you. )

On April 20th I registered my copy of the book, and wrote my impressions of it.

It sat on my shelf all summer until I found an appropriate place to set it free.

On September 18th I visited a local park with a wonderful statue, that I had visited earlier in the month, and left the book in its special, attention-getting, bag.

As with all my Releases, except the 1st one, I took a photo to include with the description of the Release Adventure.

In this case I had thought that the person seen with her back to the camera would find the book but, as I learned yesterday afternoon, that was apparently not what happened. ;-D

As often happens when a person who finds a book decides not to become a member... the person who next Journaled the book, and will probably Re-Release it next, is AnonymousFinder.

AnonymousFinder writes of finding the book and being quite suspicious ( Wink, Wink, I'm reasonably sure! ) still decides to take the book home.....

To learn what happened next, visit the page for my copy of An Army of Davids, and read  my 2 Journal Entries, and the new one by AnonymousFinder, here. ;-D

If you are so inclined please visit my "BOOKSHELF", and  read about my 54 Registerd Books and my reviews of them, plus the stories of the Releases of 31 of them ( With Pics for 30 of them! ), here.

Oh.... in theory this copy of Glenn's book could possibly travel the world, thus leading a life of thrills, and adventure, creating new troops in the Army of Davids, and bringing new visitors to his blogs along the way. ;-D

A lot better than wasting away its life in the bordom of my  home bookshelf, wouldn't you agree? ;-D

OC Register Provides Local Angle to AP Bookcrossing Story

ME!

Yup! Lil' ol' Sneakeasy ( Also my Bookcrossing Name ) was profiled in a sidebar to a recent AP story that the Orange County Register published in todays paper, on Page 2. ( See UPDATE at the end of this post for a note from the AP writer regarding the longer, ORIGINAL VERSION of her story ) ;-D

Having read your morning paper you came across the stories about Bookcrossing, and maybe even did a websearch that lead you to this Blog.

Only here, though, will you get something extra with the stories. ;-D

BOUND BY RANDOM ACTS OF LITERACY by Nancy Benac ( THE SNEAKEASY'S JOINT EDITION with LINKS AND COMMENTARY! )

Inspired by BookCrossing.com, more than 450,000 people have released 2.8 million books around the world since 2001, demanding nothing in return for these random acts of literacy. They do hope, however, that those who "catch" the books will register them at the BookCrossing Web site, allowing their movement around the globe to be tracked.

As of this posting the membership is now 465,006, and the number of REGISTERED books is 3,009,106.

People register books at BookCrossing.com for free, and each one is assigned a unique identification number. Then they release the books into the wild, each containing a note that gives the book's ID number and invites finders to register them, read them and release them once again.

Veteran book crossers compare it to sending out a message in a bottle.

Many books have travelled around the world in, and out, of the hands of numerous readers.

One of the most interesing aspects of Bookcrossing is the sheer number of books that have dozens, or even hundreds of copies on the loose in the world at any given time.

SCATTERING BOOKS

I mostly chose books that I'd loved and that had popular appeal (who could resist an Oprah pick?) But after I had a dozen serious candidates registered and labeled, I decided it was time for a little mischief: I left a copy of the newest anti-Bush screed, Bruce Bartlett's "Imposter" at the Cosi coffee shop across from the White House.

To be fair, I also released David Frum's paean to Bush, "The Right Man." And, just to test the true wonk quotient of oh-so-serious D.C., I selected one of the dullest titles languishing on our office bookshelves, "Brookings-Wharton Papers on Urban Affairs 2002," and planted it on a bench in Liberty Plaza. Would anyone claim this lost soul?

It quickly became clear that security guards and other figures of officialdom were the enemy. They were lurking everywhere, ready to pounce on any unauthorized object, however harmless. A manager confiscated "The Right Man," which I had propped up on an ATM inside the Good Thyme Food Court on M Street before I'd even gotten out of eyeshot.

Yes, there is this danger, but it's a risk we all take, based on where we release the book, and also on how seriously the figures of officialdom, the waiter, the store manager, the janitor, or whoever takes their job.

Once the person realizes what this Loitering Literature is up to he or she will hopefully leave it be or, better yet, take the book home to read, report as caught, and then eventually report its release.

A book could end up in a dumpster, never to be heard from again!

A book could end up in a stash at a Police Station, or a Mall Lost and Found, but at least there the chances of it being reported as caught, then released again are  better than the trash heap!

I began to wonder if the whole effort had been a waste. But my faith was quickly restored. Twelve hours after I'd left "A Man in Full" along the edge of the National Mall, someone logging on as "ironicpathos" checked in at BookCrossing.com: "Was walking down on the Mall with my brother (who is visiting D.C.) and saw the book on a bench. How excited was I! A free book! With a message inside!"

Success! Yes!

Good for her!;-D