h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have dabbled with the Bookcrossing website for a couple of years, released a handful of books and met with mixed success. I even mentioned it in a journal entry a couple of years ago, but it never occured to me to write a proper guide entry on Bookcrossing.

From experience I think it's probably a good idea to make it absolutely clear that the book is up for grabs. I left a book in a museum once and I'm sure it ended up in lost property or a bin somewhere. In the light of this the Official Bookcrossing Zones seem like a wonderful idea. I didn't know such things existed until I read this article; are they common in the UK or just the US at the moment?

Certainly a worthwhile entry though. The more people that know about the concept of bookcrossing the better.

I just had some work on in Doncaster this afternoon and had read about this just this morning. So straight away onto the Hunt page and although there were some recent pickings I was too late when I got into Doncaster. Looks good fun and a new way to read books that I might not have picked up before. I'm off to sign up now!

There are plenty of OBCZs in the UK - there's an 'obcz finder' here:

http://homepage.mac.com/pachydomo/gb-en.htm

This is cool! Loads of people I know won't read. They have journeys on public transport and would rather spend time staring at others! (Eugh!)But they have started leaving books in bus shelters in Devon. Sadly, the ones I have seen I have already read, or they are mills and boon.(Not saying there is anything bad about mills and boon, but my handbag is big enough for Terry Pratchett or Anne Rice Or Jane Austen or... you take the point) Maybe the answer is that I need to start leaving books in bus stops.
I like that, the idea that I might be responsible for what anyone in Devon is reading!

Thankyou!

I notice that there's one located in my new favourite cinema (also the subject of a more recent journal entry). I'll certainly have to make use of that next time I'm there.

I think its wonderful so wonderful I'm printing your entry out and sticking it up in my room to remember to go out searching. Theres quite a few places around me for book crossings so hopefully a nice book will reach my hands soon.

I got a bit disheartened when a very small percentage of the books I released were journalled, and I was always just too late to catch a release in my area, so I persuaded the powers that be at my workplace that it would be a good idea to have a BCID in our canteen.

As the building is a "secure site" this limits who can leave or collect books there, but the good news is I have seen a lot more journal entries made on books I released there than anywhere else, and others have left books there too. The bad news is that there are still some books which are caught but never journalled.

I know of a pub that helps with the book crossings but I haven't ventured in yet.