Bookcrossing event
Whether left it in a public place or passed on to a friend, Bookcrossing is the practice of leaving a book to be picked up and read by others, who then in turn do likewise. This unique method of recycling books draws timely attention to the democracy of reading and the book as object.
On 6th March between 2:00 – 3.30pm, EXHIBIT will release 42 new Penguin books as part of the BIBLIOLOGY exhibition. These new books were crossed with books brought in by 36 participants, and released into the wilds of Golden Lane Estate. The event was completed with book reading from 6 guest readers who shared their favourite books.
It was an event full of fun. People came from near and far to contribute enthusiastically to the Bookcrossing. One dedicated bookcrosser travelled down from Oxford and was a helpful presence during the afternoon. Over tea and biscuits there were many passionate conversations about favourite books and why they had chosen the book or what had been brought in to cross.
There were some notable coincidences – two copies of Murakami’s ‘What I Talk About When I Talk About Running’ were swapped in the hope of inspiring other would-be runners to go for it. Someone was very pleased to acquire his 5th copy of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, as he had given away the others to friends because he loved the novel so much. Other people seemed to find exactly the right Great Ideas Penguin book, whether for themselves or to pass on to someone close to them, e.g. George Orwell’s ‘Why I Write’ was pertinent reading for a friend’s young journalist daughter; and the ‘Writings from the Zen Masters’ found a perfect home with a pinhole photographer of great spirit.
Many new bookcrossers were inspired by the activity and enjoyed the opportunity to wander through this very special estate looking for places to release their books. The onward journeys of these books may become quite international as a few people spoke about sending their new book off to relatives or friends in Spain, America and Australia. One said that she would take it on holiday to Bermuda and read and release, so we look forward to tracking their journeys in the future.
Bookcrossing is an event for the Super Estate Projects to engage the local communities and celebrate the 50th anniversary of Golden Lane Estate.
6 May 2011
