Book Crossing

Yesterday a friend of mine said how he wished more people read the kinds of books I read. I had just finished telling him about Amy Goodman's book, The Exception to the Rulers, which I'll probably comment on in subsequent posts. His comment got me thinking more and more about bookcrossing.com and what a great source it is for disseminating great books we've read.

If you're not familiar with bookcrossing.com, check out the link above. The basic premise is to make the whole world a library. Bookcrossing is defined as:

the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise

Let me give you an example of just how it works (but I really encourage you all to visit the site and get involved). Say I just finished reading Chomsky's Hegemony or Survival. I'd go to bookcrossing and register the book and they provide me with a tracking number that I then put inside the cover along with the URL to bookcrossing.com and a short message (they also sell labels you can buy) explaining what to do.

Then I set the book free. This can be done in any number of ways. I can pass it along to a friend or a stranger. I can "forget it" at a coffee shop or a school or any place really. And when I leave it somewhere I can let people at bookcrossing know where it is so that if someone is looking for that particular book they can go get it.

I know at least one other Blue Voicer is a member of bookcrossing and I hope others will check it out and get involved. It's a great way to share the books that have inspired you. And what's even better is that you check in to bookcrossing and see what others have thought of the book you release into the world. You can watch that book travel around as others participate in the process. And by helping to disseminate progressive books you help spread information that is critical in a democracy.

Now I'm not telling you to give away every book you own. I'm certainly not going to do that. But if you're anything like me you're always lending books out to people anyway, and I hardly ever seem to get them back as it is. Looking at my bookshelf right now I can only see a few books by Chomsky, though I've bought dozens at least. I pass them along to friends.

Try and remember that there are a lot of people in this country who can't afford to go to the local bookstore everytime they want something new to read. The local library may or may not have the books people are looking for. And with the way the Patriot Act is targeting our reading habits at book stores and libraries, this is a great way to skirt the whole thing. Check it out, let me know what you think. And if you're familiar with bookcrossing, leave a testimonial here so others can get an idea of what it's all about. Thanks.

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