 Bookcrossing: Is the World Becoming a Huge Library?
Are you a person who buys a lot of books and then keeps them in your own
personal library? Is your goal to someday show your children what a big,
gorgeous library you have and how intellectual you are? Well, I don't
have a library but I've read a lot of books. I gave some to my friends--why
should I keep a book all to myself when I could give it to someone else
to read? Others weren't even mine to begin with--I borrowed them from
someone else or from the library.
I should confess that, even though I know it's not
considered a good habit, I like to take notes or draw something on a
book’s pages. It's like giving the book an experience or a soul. In that
way, a book can become a place to share thoughts and feelings with
others.
I never thought that this type of sharing would become a
game, but it has. In this game, the world becomes a library, giving you
the chance to pick up a book that someone else has read, in a pub or a
cafe, on the street or in a park. But this doesn't mean that people
forgot their books. It's all part of "Bookcrossing," which is very
popular in the US and England right now and is becoming popular in
Turkey, too. It works like this. You read a book and leave it wherever
you finished it. It can be a beach, a cafe, a bus or any public place.
You write a note that tells about Bookcrossing and also
contributes information that will allow the next reader to learn things
like how many times the book has been read, where it has been, etc.
Then, you record the book on the website (for Turkey, it's
http://www.gezginkitap.com and
for other countries, www.bookcrossing.com). When you find a book that
someone else left, again, you need to log on to the site and record the
book's number, the place where it was found and the date. Using these
records, you can track a book you read and left somewhere. If your book
is lucky, it might even travel around the world.
It isn't yet known how people will react to this new game.
My guess is that after a time, a book will be found by some evil person
who will burn it, throw it away or even sell it. Or, a reader may leave
a book outdoors, and then it starts to rain....Okay, it's unpleasant to
think that way. Another possible consequence is that if this "game"
becomes common all over the world, writers may not earn much money for
their work. Perhaps, in the future, the EU might even ban Bookcrossing.
How funny that would be! My own view is that, all in all, it's a good
thing. There will be less wasted paper and therefore fewer forests will
be lost. Most importantly, Bookcrossing creates opportunities to share
books, making the world into a huge library. I'm now planning to read a
book and then leave it somewhere in the hope that it will travel all
over the country and many people will read it. By the way, I'm also
keeping an eye out for books that have been left in public places!
Gülay Acar (COMD/III)
howtoreachgulay@yahoo.com
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