BookCrossing
Not every new activity involves going out of your way to do something new. In fact this activity involves something you have been doing since you were a child and you are in fact doing now.
Reading.
Everyone knows the benefits of reading. It can be educational, it can be fun and it can give you an escape from the daily world. I’m not going to waste both our time writing about why you should read or recommend good books to read, there are other people out there to do that.
The activity worth trying is known as ‘BookCrossing’ it is an amazing idea started by the people at Humankind Systems, Inc. It can be found at www.bookcrossing.com. It’s free, it’s easy and it can be a bit of fun.
Think of it as the world’s largest book club with a difference. Rather than meeting the clubs other members around a table at a coffee shop you treat the world as the coffee shop and anyone who has signed up on the site can be a member.
Book crossing makes exchanging books a little more fun. If you have read and enjoyed a book you register it on the site and leave it for someone to find. Wither it’s someone who’s just come across the book or a member who got its location from the website the book is out there ‘in the wild’ to be found and enjoyed by someone else.
Similarly you can search for a book or see what books have been ‘released’ in your area! Once you have read the book you can then place it out there again for someone else to enjoy. Place it somewhere easy enough to get to, somewhere interesting and preferably somewhere safe.
The site also has some very active forums you can discuss the book you just read. There are no requirements on the time it takes you to read a book so you can take your time with the books if you need to and there are no limits to the amount of books you can read and share.
Book crossing can be a fun activity and doesn’t take much extra effort. It can be a fun way to find a new type of book you wouldn’t normally buy. The fun of leaving and finding books could also be an incentive to get a child more enthusiastic about reading.. which is never a bad thing.
While book crossing is indeed free you have the option to support them through buying or donating to them. If you do give it a try and get into it you may consider buying some book release supplies. These range from stickers to water proof bags (so you can release outside without the worry of rain) there are also some nice items to be found at their online store. Prices are pretty reasonable and everything goes towards supporting book crossing.
BookCrossing exposed me to an entirely new set of books I would never have thought to buy on my own. I’ve also set a few ‘wild’ in my area so why not give it a try and maybe even pick up my books?
Why not try BookCrossing today?
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