 Photo: Michele Berger |
No matter how far digital we move, there鈥檚 something great about holding a book in your hand, penciling notes in the margins, leafing through, placing it prominently on your shelf for others to ogle.
That doesn鈥檛 mean, of course, you want to keep it forever. Once you鈥檙e done with a book, then what? You can typically . But hardcover books can鈥檛 be recycled鈥攁ccording to , it鈥檚 due to the glue that binds together the pages鈥攁nd usually cannot be donated the way you might used clothes.
Here鈥檚 an idea we love: It鈥檚 called bookcrossing and the concept is simple. Register your book (you can download a label for free), share it, then watch its travels. offers three ways to give away your novels:
1. Controlled release. 鈥淧ass your book on to a friend, a stranger, a strange friend, or a friendly stranger!鈥 You know specifically where your book鈥檚 adventure starts (at least its first stop).
2. Wild release. It鈥檚 a bit like 鈥渘udging a baby bird out of the nest.鈥 BookCrossing鈥檚 words, not ours. 鈥淟eave your labeled book on a park bench on a summer day, in a train station, on the table in your favorite coffee shop鈥攁nywhere it鈥檚 likely to be caught by another delighted reader.鈥
3. Creative release. Here, the opportunities are endless (but if you need some inspiration).
One German company , putting up 鈥攎ade from an old tree trunk, nonetheless鈥攆illed with books for people to take and spots for people to fill. It鈥檚 the first public bookcase in Berlin.
Once you鈥檝e given your book wings, track it on BookCrossing.com. Maybe your tome will travel to a place you wish to go! So far, more than three-quarters of a million people have registered seven million books.