Bookcrossers discussion

I do have an OBCZ, but when books don't move off there, I don't know where to move them to. The library has a new system for its paperback exchange that makes BC books unwelcome, and we don't travel much anymore so the laundry rooms of hotels aren't available. And it's winter, so no rest stops or city parks... Help!

Hey Cheryl,
I had one of my best catches in a small restaurant. I left it on the window ledge by the table. Had a lovely JE too. Otherwise I have had very little luck with wild releases, and am very disheartened, so I too would love some advice.

You can switch to controlled releases via post, it's so much fun

You can still wild release books in the winter, I just put mine inside a clear sandwich bag with a bright label on the front saying free book. There aren't a huge amount of catches but I do get some, train windows, bus stations seem to be good places for me.

Oh, yes, I can put a few in those newspaper boxes for the real estate mags - thanks for the reminder (bus stations nudged me).

I'd love to mail books but nobody ever wants any of mine.

I don't let winter bother me. I put the book in a plastic ziplock bag. I place a "Free Book" sticker, made out of a Post-It note, on the book and include information on Bookcrossing inside the book. It's wintertime here and I just wild released a book on a park bench outside a local hotel and it got "caught" the same day. I like to leave my books on benches/tables along a downtown area, at a bus stop or coffee shops. If there is a place with a cork message/events board I will pin small, light weight books (in plastic bags) on those.

Oh yes I understand ziploc bags. It's just that this town becomes a ghost town in winter - people huddle in their hoods between car and store and would not notice books on benches. Sometimes it seems like it would be cool to live in a real city where there's more going on.

I'll see if I can find notice boards or benches or such near the downtown coffee shops when it starts to get a bit nicer, though, thanks for the ideas!

More ideas welcome, especially for bulk releases? I send a bag to the exchange shelf at my husband's work every once in a while, but they don't really move their, either.

I think e-readers are making people less interested in secondhand books - the avid readers have switched over to the technology and the casual readers use libraries or buy new.

How about in shops (obviously shops that don't sell books), the supermarkets often have community areas, bathrooms, public telephones in them. In shopping trollies or the store's coffee shop. Areas in the shopping centre or even the petrol stations?

I got lots of books picked up just outside the library, ours had a foyer before you walked into it and I often left books there.

In Boston there are a number of cafes, laundromats, and also the main hostel that host bookcrossing books on a bookshelf.

I like to leave books on top of gas pumps whenever I fill up. I also leave them on tables inside coffee shops and restaurants (I've had especially good luck with fast food places). If it's an extra-small book I leave it in a geocache.

If you don't mind sending a box of books (media mail is your friend), you can always post on the forums to see if anybody wants some for their OBCZ. Heck, I'm always happy to receive books for wild release.

Ok, yes, I think my brain is coming unstuck - now I have to get my head out my hood and look for places like the top of the gas pump and the lobby of the fast-food restaurant.

Let's keep this thread open!

Most of the books that don't move at my OBCZ are pretty tired, like MM sci-fi and romance, but yes if someone wants a couple of dozen, USA only, just PM me.