BOOKCROSSING - THE SECOND YEAR
“For him that stealeth, or borroweth and returneth not, this book from its owner … let him be struck with palsy, & all his members blasted ….Let bookworms gnaw his entrails in token of the Worm that dieth not, & when at last he goes to his final punishment, let the flames of Hell consume him forever”
- Anathema in a medieval manuscript from the Monastery of San Pedro in Barcelona
The preface of “The Man Who Loved Books Too Much” - BCID 808-7718151
It was my second Bookcrossing anniversary recently and it’s come and gone without me realizing it. The older I get the quicker time passes. One of these days I most probably will wake up dead! But, I cannot actually afford to die as the dreaded Mt TBR is growing to unmanageable proportions and I have to read them all first. I blame Bookcrossing for this ever-growing mountain of books.
I trouble is that I haven’t changed my book buying habits since joining Bookcrossing - new books keeps on finding me, and I am held to ransom by the beautiful covers and intriguing titles wherever I go. I am a sucker for bookshops, and there are way too many close to where I live which draws me like a druggie to his next fix. Maybe I must move to the back of beyond but I’ll have to trash my computer as well, otherwise I’ll either order on-line or join every new Bookring thread that’s posted.
It’s ‘rings and ‘rays that got me in trouble in the first place. At the beginning of the year all the unread books started accusing me of neglect each time I entered my study. They threatened to leave and I promised I won’t join new ‘rings. But there’s a problem - parcels keep on arriving as I’ve entered rings in 2009 which is only getting to me now. Oh, I know I can ask to be skipped when a Private Message arrives requesting my address but I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. They might just feel rejected and I believe in what the Dalai Lama once said;
“Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.”
Who am I to question the teachings of a holy entity that has chosen to be reborn to enlighten others?
I have found a solution to those silent accusing titles on the ever growing pile. I refuse to switch on the lights when I enter the study at night. I never, ever enter during the day. There be dragons. Out of sight, out of mind - those books. I grope in the dark blindly when its pitch black when I’ve bought something new, quickly chuck it on to the to be read pile and leave oh so quietly
Still bookcrossing parcels arrive with fearsome regularity from far and wide. Last week I had a lovely surprise - an RABCK from Bjork in Iceland - that mysterious country on the other side of the earth whose name alone makes this child of African Sky Blue and Sunny Skies shiver.
I have a confession to make though - I have fallen behind in my reading, and to a certain extent all the bookrays and RABCK’s that regularly arrive puts me under pressure as there is so many great books I’ve bought that I want to get around to.
Sometime I slip one of these in, and I call them my guilty pleasure books - the ones that I shouldn’t be reading because of the bookrays waiting to be read and passed on. It’s a terrible state of affairs and a Catch-22 situation.
The last two guilty-pleasure-reads were Joe Hill’s “Horns” which I really enjoyed; this has since been sent on a controlled release journey. I also read Jonathan Carroll’s delightful “A Ghost in Love” that I specifically bought as an RABCK to be released to Releana in Vienna in memory of Mr Baggins of Noble Look.
Baggins my dog-son sadly passed away recently. My Bookcrossing site, Live Journal and my Flickr site carries his name and a thumbnail of him is my Avatar. Each time I visit these sites I’m reminded of Baggy and it hurts. I was thinking of changing the name but decided to leave it as a monument to a noble and stubborn dog. I believe each time his picture appears on my screen a piece of him flashes into the great beyond, that special part of heaven where the animals we love go.
Baggy was known, and I think fondly remembered, by a number of bookcrossers around the world judging by the large number of messages I received during his short illness and also when he passed on. Words cannot describe how much these messages of caring and condolence meant to me.
I’ve been less active in the past year. I have released every single book from my own collection that I could part with and therefore my wild release rate has dropped. There also seems to be a strange but understandable phenomenon in Jozi where I’ve released books. The staff takes most of the books as I release them and they become silent travelers without ever being journaled. I’ve done some gentle enquiries about why these books seemingly disappear without trace. What often happen is that they are taken home as South Africa is in essence a third world country where books are a luxury. I can live with that, as these silent travelers hopefully bring some mystery and magic into lives that need it the most.
Some of the books I released ended up in weird and wonderful places and with some lovely journal entries. I often slip a worthless Zimbabwean bank note for a couple of billion dollars into my controlled releases which lead to some surprising comments.
One of my wild releases, a copy of “Lucky Fish”, BCID 298-6953176, is now somewhere on St Helena Island after it traveled via Cape Town and Walvis Bay in Namibia. Another South African book titled “Skyline” which I wild released in the Olympia Café in the quaint little town of Kalk Bay close to Cape Town last known whereabouts is a place called Moose Jaw. Moose Jaw is a city at the junction of Thunder Creek and the Moose Jaw River, Saskatchewan, Canada. I didn’t know this city even existed and it sounds like a fictitious town from some old Wild West Movie.
I am a firm believer that books find one at the right place and at the right time which is clearly reflected in some of my journal entries. I wild released “Exile Child”, BCID 464-775927, which is about the life of Sarah Bartmann, the "The Hottentot Venus," in a coffee shop in Greyton in the Western Cape while on holiday in January and it had the following intriguing journal entry.
“I picked up the book in a coffee shop in Greyton. I chose Greyton to spend my last few days in Cape Town. Circumstances would have me move to Johannesburg within the next few days. I had been considering moving back to be with family when the "circumstance" came along and confirmed what I had been considering. I truly love Cape Town - the sacrifice I trust will be worth it. Cape Town will always be there. Family and loved ones on the other hand - well we just don't know when they won't be here anymore.
Really enjoyed the read. Enlightening to say the least...the sacrifice some are chosen to make. I think many women, including myself, have had a similar experience - perhaps not as extreme but certainly as damaging to the soul. The 'girl child' being lost forever.”
Another; “Faithful Travellers: A father, His Daughter, a Journey of the Heart”, BCID 138-6935897 was in my personal collection for a long time. I bought it many years ago because the central theme was a father trying to explain to his daughter the meaning of divorce. I had the same happy experience in a previous life. I wild released the book and it was journaled the same day
“Amazing, how at any moment our lives can change and do change.... I hadn't even heard of Bookcrossing 27 hours ago and here I am hacking away on how I walked into 'The Chef' for a 'latte and Almond Croissant to go'... and this book caught my eye! Like Mr.Baggins1, I too could relate to the theme of the book, and the description on the back cover 'Scarred by the abrupt ending of his eleven-year marriage....in my case it was a 9 year relationship and it ended nearly 5 years ago! So now, this beautiful book has travelled via the front lawn of the Civic Theatre to my home on 3rd Ave, Melville. I am just now going back into the sun on the terrace to read a little more”
This is the Karma of Bookcrossing for sure!
I received a private massage some time ago on a book I posted as an RABCK. I’ve heavily edited the message and agonized about including it here but it so profoundly illustrates the powerful influence of the right book at the right, or wrong, time.
“Yes, I went down there not knowing anybody, just expecting a nice week in the sun to relax. I'd been trying hard for years and years to figure out what my course of study at university should be, and I wasn't satisfied with what I’ve chosen. I felt itchy and distracted, and unhappy. When I arrived in ……, something transformative happened to me. I did walk out into the sunshine, like I said, but a settled feeling came over me and I knew it was the place I belonged and was meant to stay.
I didn't know where in the state, didn't know which university, though I knew I'd figure it out.
I've decided to resume studying at the University of ….., first for my undergrad in history and political science, then for a Master's in Library Science. It is my ultimate goal to open a book source center, which would supply reading materials and media for underfunded communities that have no libraries at all.
And be a librarian, and a politician at the local level.
And I would never have known this if not for my trip which I'd never have taken if not for the book you send me.
You helped me change my life.
Thank you
That was my pleasure and in the end I was only a small link in the chain of destiny I believe.
I really treasure this strange loose gathering of book fanatics that that spans the world who I only meet in the wide blue nowhere. I have only met one live Bookcrosser in the two years since I’ve joined and have never found a wild release by accident. I also still remain the only active Bookcrosser in Johannesburg which I don’t understand at all!
Thanks for the pleasure all my bookcrossing friends bring into my life and I hope you also enjoy my company.
- Anathema in a medieval manuscript from the Monastery of San Pedro in Barcelona
The preface of “The Man Who Loved Books Too Much” - BCID 808-7718151
It was my second Bookcrossing anniversary recently and it’s come and gone without me realizing it. The older I get the quicker time passes. One of these days I most probably will wake up dead! But, I cannot actually afford to die as the dreaded Mt TBR is growing to unmanageable proportions and I have to read them all first. I blame Bookcrossing for this ever-growing mountain of books.
I trouble is that I haven’t changed my book buying habits since joining Bookcrossing - new books keeps on finding me, and I am held to ransom by the beautiful covers and intriguing titles wherever I go. I am a sucker for bookshops, and there are way too many close to where I live which draws me like a druggie to his next fix. Maybe I must move to the back of beyond but I’ll have to trash my computer as well, otherwise I’ll either order on-line or join every new Bookring thread that’s posted.
It’s ‘rings and ‘rays that got me in trouble in the first place. At the beginning of the year all the unread books started accusing me of neglect each time I entered my study. They threatened to leave and I promised I won’t join new ‘rings. But there’s a problem - parcels keep on arriving as I’ve entered rings in 2009 which is only getting to me now. Oh, I know I can ask to be skipped when a Private Message arrives requesting my address but I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. They might just feel rejected and I believe in what the Dalai Lama once said;
“Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.”
Who am I to question the teachings of a holy entity that has chosen to be reborn to enlighten others?
I have found a solution to those silent accusing titles on the ever growing pile. I refuse to switch on the lights when I enter the study at night. I never, ever enter during the day. There be dragons. Out of sight, out of mind - those books. I grope in the dark blindly when its pitch black when I’ve bought something new, quickly chuck it on to the to be read pile and leave oh so quietly
Still bookcrossing parcels arrive with fearsome regularity from far and wide. Last week I had a lovely surprise - an RABCK from Bjork in Iceland - that mysterious country on the other side of the earth whose name alone makes this child of African Sky Blue and Sunny Skies shiver.
I have a confession to make though - I have fallen behind in my reading, and to a certain extent all the bookrays and RABCK’s that regularly arrive puts me under pressure as there is so many great books I’ve bought that I want to get around to.
Sometime I slip one of these in, and I call them my guilty pleasure books - the ones that I shouldn’t be reading because of the bookrays waiting to be read and passed on. It’s a terrible state of affairs and a Catch-22 situation.
The last two guilty-pleasure-reads were Joe Hill’s “Horns” which I really enjoyed; this has since been sent on a controlled release journey. I also read Jonathan Carroll’s delightful “A Ghost in Love” that I specifically bought as an RABCK to be released to Releana in Vienna in memory of Mr Baggins of Noble Look.
Baggins my dog-son sadly passed away recently. My Bookcrossing site, Live Journal and my Flickr site carries his name and a thumbnail of him is my Avatar. Each time I visit these sites I’m reminded of Baggy and it hurts. I was thinking of changing the name but decided to leave it as a monument to a noble and stubborn dog. I believe each time his picture appears on my screen a piece of him flashes into the great beyond, that special part of heaven where the animals we love go.
Baggy was known, and I think fondly remembered, by a number of bookcrossers around the world judging by the large number of messages I received during his short illness and also when he passed on. Words cannot describe how much these messages of caring and condolence meant to me.
I’ve been less active in the past year. I have released every single book from my own collection that I could part with and therefore my wild release rate has dropped. There also seems to be a strange but understandable phenomenon in Jozi where I’ve released books. The staff takes most of the books as I release them and they become silent travelers without ever being journaled. I’ve done some gentle enquiries about why these books seemingly disappear without trace. What often happen is that they are taken home as South Africa is in essence a third world country where books are a luxury. I can live with that, as these silent travelers hopefully bring some mystery and magic into lives that need it the most.
Some of the books I released ended up in weird and wonderful places and with some lovely journal entries. I often slip a worthless Zimbabwean bank note for a couple of billion dollars into my controlled releases which lead to some surprising comments.
One of my wild releases, a copy of “Lucky Fish”, BCID 298-6953176, is now somewhere on St Helena Island after it traveled via Cape Town and Walvis Bay in Namibia. Another South African book titled “Skyline” which I wild released in the Olympia Café in the quaint little town of Kalk Bay close to Cape Town last known whereabouts is a place called Moose Jaw. Moose Jaw is a city at the junction of Thunder Creek and the Moose Jaw River, Saskatchewan, Canada. I didn’t know this city even existed and it sounds like a fictitious town from some old Wild West Movie.
I am a firm believer that books find one at the right place and at the right time which is clearly reflected in some of my journal entries. I wild released “Exile Child”, BCID 464-775927, which is about the life of Sarah Bartmann, the "The Hottentot Venus," in a coffee shop in Greyton in the Western Cape while on holiday in January and it had the following intriguing journal entry.
“I picked up the book in a coffee shop in Greyton. I chose Greyton to spend my last few days in Cape Town. Circumstances would have me move to Johannesburg within the next few days. I had been considering moving back to be with family when the "circumstance" came along and confirmed what I had been considering. I truly love Cape Town - the sacrifice I trust will be worth it. Cape Town will always be there. Family and loved ones on the other hand - well we just don't know when they won't be here anymore.
Really enjoyed the read. Enlightening to say the least...the sacrifice some are chosen to make. I think many women, including myself, have had a similar experience - perhaps not as extreme but certainly as damaging to the soul. The 'girl child' being lost forever.”
Another; “Faithful Travellers: A father, His Daughter, a Journey of the Heart”, BCID 138-6935897 was in my personal collection for a long time. I bought it many years ago because the central theme was a father trying to explain to his daughter the meaning of divorce. I had the same happy experience in a previous life. I wild released the book and it was journaled the same day
“Amazing, how at any moment our lives can change and do change.... I hadn't even heard of Bookcrossing 27 hours ago and here I am hacking away on how I walked into 'The Chef' for a 'latte and Almond Croissant to go'... and this book caught my eye! Like Mr.Baggins1, I too could relate to the theme of the book, and the description on the back cover 'Scarred by the abrupt ending of his eleven-year marriage....in my case it was a 9 year relationship and it ended nearly 5 years ago! So now, this beautiful book has travelled via the front lawn of the Civic Theatre to my home on 3rd Ave, Melville. I am just now going back into the sun on the terrace to read a little more”
This is the Karma of Bookcrossing for sure!
I received a private massage some time ago on a book I posted as an RABCK. I’ve heavily edited the message and agonized about including it here but it so profoundly illustrates the powerful influence of the right book at the right, or wrong, time.
“Yes, I went down there not knowing anybody, just expecting a nice week in the sun to relax. I'd been trying hard for years and years to figure out what my course of study at university should be, and I wasn't satisfied with what I’ve chosen. I felt itchy and distracted, and unhappy. When I arrived in ……, something transformative happened to me. I did walk out into the sunshine, like I said, but a settled feeling came over me and I knew it was the place I belonged and was meant to stay.
I didn't know where in the state, didn't know which university, though I knew I'd figure it out.
I've decided to resume studying at the University of ….., first for my undergrad in history and political science, then for a Master's in Library Science. It is my ultimate goal to open a book source center, which would supply reading materials and media for underfunded communities that have no libraries at all.
And be a librarian, and a politician at the local level.
And I would never have known this if not for my trip which I'd never have taken if not for the book you send me.
You helped me change my life.
Thank you
That was my pleasure and in the end I was only a small link in the chain of destiny I believe.
I really treasure this strange loose gathering of book fanatics that that spans the world who I only meet in the wide blue nowhere. I have only met one live Bookcrosser in the two years since I’ve joined and have never found a wild release by accident. I also still remain the only active Bookcrosser in Johannesburg which I don’t understand at all!
Thanks for the pleasure all my bookcrossing friends bring into my life and I hope you also enjoy my company.