Monday, September 3, 2007

BookCrossing Adventure


Intrigued by the 8/31/07 posting about BookCrossing on the Newpages Blog, I thought it would be fun to release "into the wild" a copy of my new book, Stirring the Mirror. The idea of bookcrossing is to share books with the world, tracking their journeys on the Web site. You first register the book, receiving a BCID number, then label the book and leave it somewhere for an interested reader to discover and take home. Hopefully the finder will go to BookCrossing and note that she/he found the book, along with her/his home location. Later the finder can leave a journal entry about the book (if read), then pass it on by releasing it again. Book on an adventure around the world...I love this idea!

Yesterday was a glorious, clear Sunday. The exact place I wanted to go to release the book popped into my mind. I printed out and attached labels from BookCrossing inside the cover, hand wrote a note to "Dear Reader" on the title page, popped it in a freezer bag, and gussied it up with a lime green ribbon and a neon orange Post-It marking it as a FREE BOOK. Another BookCrossing label with their yellow walking book symbol was the finishing touch. (It shouts "Howdy! Hola! Bonjour! Guten Tag!") We picked up my mother-in-law and drove to Storm King Art Center in Mountainville, NY. I remembered a particular nest-like sculpture from past visits and pictured the book contentedly resting there, waiting for someone to find it. I stealthily slipped Stirring the Mirror into the hollow of "Momo Taro," a granite sculpture by Isamu Noguchi. (#52 on the walking map, as pictured above.)

After strolling and admiring some of the towering sculptures gracing the green, green rolling landscape for about ten minutes, I couldn't control my curiosity. I circled back to sneak a peek into the hilltop hiding place. The book was GONE.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Christine,
Really enjoyed reading your blog post. I hope the person who picked up your book makes a journal entry on the BookCrossing website so you can follow its journey from person to person. You'll enjoy the fellowship that BookCrossing brings...the people are incredible and the common love of reading mixed with the altruistic nature of the service will hook you for life!
Best Regards,
Scott
CEO BookCrossing

Christine said...

Thanks, Scott...BookCrossing seems like a fantastic idea. I had fun leaving Stirring the Mirror out there in hopes of it being found by an appreciative reader. I'm dying to know who took the book and where it traveled to after Mountainville. Keep up the good work!
All the best to you,
Chris

theathea said...

Mom! Has anyone written on BookCrossing yet??

Christine said...

No, no one has yet. Sigh. Hopefully whoever found the book will do that soon!
Love,
Mom

Alex D M said...

That's awesome. May your book have many thrilling adventures!

Christine said...

Thanks, Alex! I'd love to know where it is! I'm thinking of releasing a copy of my first book as well. Have a great weekend.

All the best to you,
Chris