BookCrossing: New Life for Old Books

Are you overrun with old books that you have already read and now aren't sure what to do with? Sure, you could donate them to Goodwill, but what if you could send your books on an adventure and track them along the way? That's precisely what a service called Bookcrossing allows you to do.

Just what is Bookcrossing? It's a unique kind of book club that allows you to share your old books with other people and track where they wind up. Here's how it works.

When you are done reading a book or find a book you don't want anymore you register it on the BookCrossing website. A unique number is generated that you then write on the inside cover of the book in ink.

Then, you can either write the Bookcrossing info directly on the cover or use one of their special labels to let whomever gets the book next know that the book is on a journey. It also informs them that they can get in on the fun by visiting the Bookcrossing site to help track it and see where it winds up next.

Once you have your book labeled, you make a journal entry about it on the BookCrossing website using the tracking code. Then, you "release it into the wild". It could be that you leave it at a coffee shop, on a park bench, on the bus or in a waiting room at a doctors office. Or perhaps you pass it on to a friend.

No matter how you release the book, the info on the inside cover will encourage people to visit the site and post journal entries letting you know where it's been and where it's going.

How popular is bookcrossing? Currently there are over 650,000 people in various countries around the world participating. Bookcrossing has become so popular, in fact, that it has been added to the Concise Oxford English Dictionary as a new word. The Bookcrossing website reports that it is currently gaining about 300 new members every day.

This is a really fun way to pass on your old books - much more exciting than seeing them collect dust on the shelves of your local thrift store. You not only get a glimpse into where your book has traveled, but also can read what other people thought of it when they read it and share your own thoughts.

You can find out more about how Book Crossing works or register your own books to send them on an adventure at http://www.bookcrossing.com