A travelling book

Today I set a book on a journey.

All I had to do was register it over at BookCrossing (http://www.bookcrossing.com/), label it and leave it somewhere for someone to pick up and read – and share with the next person. And maybe, just maybe, someone will report back on the website and I’ll get to follow the adventure.

The book I chose was ‘Tennyson’s Gift’ by Lynne Truss. It’s a farce that throws together some well- and lesser-known Victorians – the poet Lord Alfred Tennyson, the writer Lewis Carroll, the painter G. F. Watts and the photographer Julia Margaret Cameron amongst others – on the Isle of Wight one rollicking summer. I thought it was fun and funny, a book to stretch out in the sun with...

Choosing just where to leave it (on a sunny bench up on campus) took some deciding and checking on the website I was delighted to see how many books have already been left at spots all around Cape Town – including Lion’s Head, Table Mountain and Devil’s Peak. Now I wish I’d thought of that..!

I’ll have to choose a good title next time I go climbing... ‘Wuthering Heights’ maybe?

A small pile of books

I’ve added a banner to my blog – have you seen it yet? Look on the right...  

Yep. It’s that small pile of books just beneath the list of books I’m currently reading.

It’s a pledge to read the printed word.

But I think it’s not just about reading books – it’s about sharing books.

Since going back to my studies full-time, I’ve been buying far fewer books than I used to but I still like to give them as gifts, especially to the children and teenagers in my life.

Here’s something small you can do to share a book...

Give a book as a gift, especially to a child

There are so many wonderful children’s books to choose from – everything from beautiful big picture books to pop-ups to board books to bath books. Or share one of your own favourite old and dog-eared children’s books with a littler member of your family.

Join your local library

Um, look it up if you don’t know where it is. And donate some of the books you’ve bought that you know you won’t read again.

Make use of your school and university libraries

While more and more books and articles are available online, libraries are still the most accessible places to read and study.

Give a book away

Find a school that could really do with more books for their classrooms or library and donate some of your books.

Lend a book

And borrow one in return – that way you should be sure to get yours back!

Recommend a book

If you really can’t be parted with a book you love, recommend it – especially to people you know don’t often read books. And create a home for your books on http://www.librarything.com/ while connecting with other readers who’ve read and loved the same books.

Release a book into the wild...

‘If you love your books, let them go.’ Let your book travel around the world – join other book lovers at http://www.bookcrossing.com/ and you can then label your book so that it won’t get lost, ‘release’ it by leaving it on a park bench, at a train station, at your favourite coffee shop – anywhere it can be ‘caught’ by another delighted reader – and then log on to see who finds it and what adventures it has had. =)

You can see more banners here: http://readtheprintedword.org/ 

A bigger pile of books - I bought these at a sale and gave most of them away.