BOOKCROSSING

BookCrossingis a practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by anyone who will then do likewise. The term was suggested by bookcrossing.com, a free online book club which was founded to encourage the practice, aiming to "make the whole world a library." The 'crossing' or exchanging books may take any form, including leaving books in public, direct swaps with other members of the website, or "book circles" in which books circulate in the agreed order among participants. The Americans say they "release the books in the wild." In France these books are compared with a bottle thrown to the sea (lancer une bouteille à la mer).

The author of the idea Ron Hornbakercame up with it in March 2001. About four weeks later, on April 17^th, he launched the website, which has become popular internationally. By April 2003 the website had over 113,000 members, and by 2004 the Concise Oxford Dictionary included the word "bookcrossing". International BookCrossing Day is now celebrated on the 21^st of April – on this day in 2014 the world's first book crossing activity took place. In 2004 BookCrossing came to Russia. Moscow, St.Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Tver’ are the cities where the movement is very popular.

Where "to forget" books? On a bench in a park … And if you are cautious and don't trust weather, it is better to choose a place under a roof. Shop? Phone booth? Post office? Office reception? Stations and airports seem quite suitable places to set a book wandering. If you can't leave your book without supervision or afraid it may fall into bad hands, find a temporary station for books and let it be picked up from there. In Moscow there are more than 100 such places. If you want to release a book or find one you are interested in join bookcrossing.ru.

A bookcase in Bolshoi Kharitonjevsky, 10 is a BookCrossing station set up by the founders of children’s book club situated nearby.

Материал подготовлен Швыряевой Мариной Борисовной