A book sits by itself in the lounge of the SS Marco Polo, a steamship docked in the port city of Tallinn, Estonia. The book, “Natural Causes” by Michael Palmer, is part of a global experiment in which more than 100,000 books in dozens of countries have been deliberately left behind by their owners. From Novosibirsk, Russia, to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, participants have left books in public locations to be found, read and “released” again.
While many people leave books in far-flung locales, others leave them here in Eugene. In September, people left books at Autzen Stadium, Espresso Roma and the Hult Center.
The Web site BookCrossing.com acts as the central cortex for this global experiment. The nonprofit site is the brainchild of Ron Hornbaker, a partner in the software-developing firm Humankind Systems.
Since its inception in April 2001, the Web site’s popularity has increased
exponentially, starting with only a
handful of participants and now boasting almost 50,000 members. The Web site likes to call itself a “reading group that knows no geographical boundaries,” and its goal is to turn the world into a gigantic library.
Here is how BookCrossing works: After reading a good book, a reader can register that book onBookCrossing.com’s site. The book is given an identification number and a note to be pasted inside
the cover explaining that the book is “traveling around the world making new friends.” Then the book is left at a public location such as
a coffee shop, school or bus station
to be found by someone else.
When someone else finds the book, that individual can log onto BookCrossing’s Web site and find out where that book has traveled.
After the book is released again,theWeb notifies by e-mail its previous readers about the current whereabouts of their book so the can follow the book’s travels across town or around the world.
BookCrossing.com is a unique cross-pollination of Internet technology and good ol’ fashioned book-reading. Clearly, many people have fallen in love with experiencing “the karma of literature,” judging by posted testimonials that range from silly poems to essays gushing with praise.
The Web site boasts many fun and engaging features that allow you to find out where books in your town have been released, where people in foreign countries are releasing books, or what book has traveled the farthest. But the best part is to actually participate, dust off some well-loved books, and share them with a stranger.
Contact Pulse columnist Peter Hallinan at [email protected].