Welcome to my BookCrossing page. I am firrantello.
What is BookCrossing?
BookCrossing is a completely free service (donations appreciated though!) in which members attempt to make the world a library by leaving books in places where people may pick them up if they are interested.
bookcrossing - (n.) the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise.
The "3 Rs" of BookCrossing... 1. Read a good book (you already know how to do that) 2. Register it here (along with your journal comments), get a unique BCID (BookCrossing ID number), and label the book 3. Release it for someone else to read (give it to a friend, leave it on a park bench, donate it to charity, "forget" it in a coffee shop, etc.), and get notified by email each time someone comes here and records journal entries for that book. And if you make Release Notes on the book, others can Go Hunting for it and try to find it!
About me I'm a college student and avid reader. I'll read anything that catches my fancy, but most of it is sci-fi/fantasy, horror, type catagories. Some romance.
Useful Terms and Ideas for Navigating BookCrossing
RABCK is a "Random Act of Bookcrossing Kindness." This is merely a BookCrossing related random act of kindness. TexasWren has some suggestions: "Has someone sent you a book from your wish list as a total surprise? Has someone sent you labels because they heard that your printer was broken? Has someone taken the time to look up some information that you couldn't find? Have you been winged?" These are all examples of RABCKs.
PM means private message. This function is on a member's bookshelf when you are logged in (if they allow it). It sends an email to the person without revealing either member's e-mail address.
Media Mail (or Book Rate) is a "classification of mail" which is "a less expensive, but non-expedited, way to send books, printed matter, audio recordings, and other media mail. Delivery standards are 5-8 business days." According to the USPS, "contents are limited to books, film, manuscripts, sound recordings, video tapes, and computer media (such as CDs, DVDs, and diskettes)."
9 Digit Zip Code is an extention from the familiar 5 digit zip code. You can find your 9 digit code here. You should use the 9 digit code for faster shipments, as explained here as well as here.
BookRays are books which are sent from person to person along an ordered path with no expectation of returning to the owner. The person who starts a bookray usually sets up rules for the ray which may include number of people, the order of members, the length of time a book may be held and other useful restrictions. Members join by PMing the member in charge. Once you have read the book, you PM the next member and ask for their mailing address and ship the book. BookRayGirl has a good explanation of how she operates hers, which is more or less standard (often people do make an effort to group by location, and many bookrays are not international).
BookRings are similar in many respects to a BookRay, except that the book returns to the original owner after following its designated path. The owner of the book is usually the one to set the ring up.
OBCZ or OCZ are Official BookCrossing Zones. A BC member, with the permission of the location manager, sets up a spot to become a centralized location for exchanging books. The BC site has a poster that can be printed out and displayed. You usually have to keep it stocked at first, but after awhile, people will catch on and start leaving their own books-sort of "take one-leave one." I have two links to OBCZ finders in my Links section.
Book Boxes are something I've not tried yet. Theoretically however, they work as follows: Person #1 gathers together a bunch of books. They gather a list of interested participants. Box is mailed to Person #2, who takes out a couple of books and puts the same amount back in, then mails it to Person #3. Eventually, the box will make it back to Person #1, who has a lot of new books to read. So it works like a BookRing, except it's with a box full of books rather than just one book.
Still looking for more? E-mail me and ask or check TexasWren's FAQ Page (very useful that is *grin*)
