- Tiago Luz
- Porto Alegre
- Brazil
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Wandering Books
Most of us have a lot of books that spend years on a shelf, don't we? Well', I've come across an idea which I find worth spreading: leaving these books somewhere they're going to be picked up and read by someone else.
I'd like to point out this idea is not mine, it's something that was done by a group of around 10 people, each from a part of Brazil, one of which is a co-worker of mine.
When they bought a book, they would write on one of its first pages something like this: "I'm a wandering book. That means I wasn't born to spend years accumulating dust on a shelf: I'm meant to wander and please as many eyes and minds as possible. Please, after you read me, leave somewhere where I can find a new reader."
I know that some countries have a similar tradition with newspaper, where it's quite common to find papers on bus stops or tram/subway stations. Do you think this idea has any real potential to spread the love for literature?
Sharon Turner 500+
Thank you for the reply. I look forward to the picture.) I agree there needs to be a valid incentive and it takes time. It is also great for me to know that you pondering a similar question and thinking how to spread the love of literacy. Take care
Sharon
Deborah Zotian
Tiago Luz
It seems to be available in a wide variety of languages as well, which was my main concern about the idea.
I'll surely add this to my favorites and will give it a proper look when I have the time to do so.
Thanks for the feedback!
Sharon Turner 500+
Sharon
Deborah Zotian
Kate Blake 50+
Wandering Books are a great idea, especially the recycling part. A group of friends and I had a similar method; each month we would rotate buying a book we had always wanted to read; read it then pass it around the group and on ...
We would each write our name and city in it so that people could easily see how far it had traveled. We found that it encouraged us to finally read that book and we enjoyed it even more knowing that it would be shared with like minded people!
Tiago Luz
My picture was taken in the day Natasha, my daughter, was born. She wasn't even an hour old then. :D
Regarding the idea, this co-worker of mine and her friends do that: they exchange their books on a regular basis, which allows them to read more books spending less money. It is something very good for sharing books between regular readers, but it's not really my main concern here. I'm more interested in a way to provide people who are not readers the kick-off to the wonders of literacy.
The part of writing your name and city on the book is also a good idea, but I think it doesn't give you an opportunity to see how far the book goes after you read it. It surely would be something fine to get my hands on a book and see that a lot of people with whom I have no contact (and probably never will) are actually linked to me somehow.
Thanks again for the welcoming, Kate, as well as for your interest on the topic.
Deborah Zotian
I love the idea of sharing books in any way possible. It discourages me that my current workplace has absolutely no interest in doing this.
Sharon Turner 500+
Yes I do think this has potential. In the UK we had a similar system that was also linked to a website/facebook. So each time someone found a book left in a place they could log on to the website/facebook and follow the book. The great thing was that when that person finished the book they would leave it in another location and register this location on the website. You could search by book or place. A friend who didn't read so much at that time became so fixated on finding books that she became a great reader. I am also considering doing something similar on my university campus. I have so many books that are just on a shelf or in storage. People just need encouragement and an incentive to start. Once you start you get hooked. Another scheme is in Germany where people leave books in parks. I have posted a link to the picture of the wooden structure they use to exchange books that was taken by my niece when living in Germany: http://www.sharonzspace.com/?p=290. I am also collecting ideas about such projects. I would love to add yours to this blog page. If you could take a picture of a book with the writing in it would be great.) If you have any other ideas as well I would be extremely interested. Thanks again Sharon
Tiago Luz
Here in Porto Alegre, some bus stops have been equipped with shelves symilar to that one pictured in your website. Sadly, though, I've never seen a book in one of them. I'm not sure if books aren't being placed there or if they are being picked up fastly...
I think having some form of tracking the books that one has read is a valid incentive for people to participate. Something similar to the pictures which work as baits for kids to start reading, only it's something that appeals to adults.
I haven't come across any of the books my co-worker and her friends have "freed", but I can surely make the writing in one of my own and release it somewhere. I'll do it as soon as possible, and promise to send you a picture of it.
Thanks for your feedback, it's nice to know there are people as concerned as me about spreading the love for literacy.