I put books into free libraries. Wanted to follow some of them that are special (childhood favorites, etc). I put the labels in and put the books out, but no one wants to go through the trouble of registering and entering an 11 digit number just to follow a book that someone left. That is OK. But when someone finally found one of my books there was no way to find which book they had found except for to go through all of my books. It is also virtually impossible to find the books that are on your Wishlist and entered near to you. So, the site is virtually useless for what he claims to do. Unless you just take some kind of fascination about what books people are reading in Germany. read more

Been a member of Bookcrossing (BC) since about 2003. The site is international nonprofit--where you register your books--they give you a BCID--Book Crossing Identification number--there are free labels that you can download or you can buy artist designed labels to help support BC. Once you write the BCID on the label--the idea is to tape/glue the label with the BCID inside the book so you can track the book's journey from one reader to another. To join is free but if you want a "wings" membership there is a small fee/donation. The membership allows you a few more features in managing all the books you have registered. BC members chiefly swap, trade, and release books. Some are very active via the website--www.bookcrossing.com where there are a number of forums for themed rings, book relays, book boxes, and reading challenges. Some folks are online only/chiefly because they don't have an active/local BC group. BC members also meet-up in person, the official meet-up night for Bookcrossing is the 2nd Tues. of the month. But local/active groups often have other related meet-ups, and mini-conventions. Conventions happen all over the world and are posted on the website. Once a year there is an officially convention and a shorter un-convention. The active BC groups bid to host these events. Our Boston group hosted an "Unconvention" in 2010, it was small b/c a lot of folks that attended the official convention in Amsterdam that year, got delayed/caught by the Icelandic volcanos and spent more money than had been planned, etc. We had tours of Salem, MA, the Boston Public Library, and we took everyone to free Shakespeare on the Common. We had a large selection of books for folks to browse and take home. At one point the alarm in the hotel/dorm we rented went off--security had to come in and fix it -- and he took a couple of books with him. There is usually something for everyone. Bookcrossers as we are called some of the nicest people/book worms you will meet. Every meeting is different, we talk about books we are reading, have read, authors we love, don't love -- it sort of crosses over into a literary salon sometimes. I've only been to one national conventional in Washington DC. It was a lot of fun with lots of fun activities and I took back a lot of great books. Our Boston group fluctuates in size, we have lost folks to moving away, and changes in life, children, etc. But we have an interesting mix of folks. We try to have Saturday meet-ups and also sometimes special meet-ups for Shakespeare on the Common and the Boston Book Festival Other outlets for releasing books that are registered with Book Crossing are Little Free Libraries and also cafes that host a free book shelf--sometimes it's good to check for management, etc. In Boston, we also have an arrangement with the international hostel for a book case, unfortunately it's on the 2nd floor in a conference room and often locked--but some of the books do turn over. Over the years, I've also sent BC registered books to deployed troops. I've had journal entries from Iraq, Afghanistan, South America, Europe, and all over the U.S. read more

I heard about BookCrossing through geocaching. I registered back in 2005, but hadn't done anything until this year. I re-registered and today successfully released my first book. I like the vibe at the site, and of course the activity itself. The site is still a bit clunky in operation, but one catches on easily enough. Stop by and read all about it. Better yet, gather those books that are just collecting dust and release them for others to read. :) read more

this looks like a super cool idea so i went ahead and registered for free on their site and we'll see what happens. i don't read to often but i do hope this effort will encourage me to read more. register a code and set your books free? pretty cool but i'm sure i'll be leaving books around more often than i'll be looking to see if they are left behind. kind of makes you think where those books were exactly. hell i like to read while i'm in the bathroom so i don't want to think about that too much. i own so many cookbooks and it's my hobby to collect them and cook it's going to be very hard to depart with any thing from my collection. then again it would be very cool to spread the joy of cooking and hopefully seeing that this book will get around. i do know i have family with books that never see the light of day so it's time for me to get cracking! read more