I was a huge spaceoid at work today. I did fine at a morning meeting away from the office, but after a relatively productive morning, I discovered that I couldn’t account for large portions of my afternoon time. I think the problem was that I didn’t pick up any lunch on my way into the office. I was forced to make do with a tiny, microwaveable cup of corn chowder and a couple of snack bars. It was not enough food, even if you add in the cup of hot chocolate I drank late in the afternoon to keep my blood sugar from plummeting. I think I need to start stocking up on sandwich fixings.
After work I went to supper with a friend and we proceeded to a BookCrossing Meetup. If you’re not aware of BookCrossing, it’s a site that allows you to register your books then “release them into the wild” for other people to find. If you’re lucky, the finder logs into the site and adds a journal entry about the book. I’ve been participating for a couple of years now, and it’s really quite entertaining. Plus, it keeps my natural hoarding tendencies in check, at least in regard to books. It was a small but friendly gathering, but we did some brisk book trading.
It’s hard for me to believe that I was once very shy. These days I participate in a number of activities that involve walking up to groups of total strangers and introducing myself. If I could get through the last psychological barrier and actually steel myself to sell things to strangers, I’ll bet I could make quite a good living at it!
But back to BookCrossing. I haven’t done many “wild releases” lately, but only because most of my books are either in my “to be read” pile or of such questionable quality that I’m afraid they’d get put straight in the garbage. Every year when a friend of mine has her neighborhood garage sale, I gather a big box of books to give away. They are seldom journaled again, but it’s an efficient way of dispersing them. When someone does “catch” one of the books I’ve released, it’s very exciting. My chiropractor’s waiting room has been a very good release location in the past.
If you’re a book hoarder, I highly recommend BookCrossing. It makes you evaluate your collection and really think about whether you’re really going to read most of your books again. Sure, I have certain ones I’ll keep forever, but the rest are expendable. Why not let someone else enjoy them?
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