Project Bookcrossing

Short description: I am releasing one book every day. Maybe I’ll understand more about Bookcrossing and people when I finish. The project began on the 12th of April 2012. (I’m gone on holiday now, but the project will continue in the autumn.)

Longer description: I have been a member at bookcrossing.com since 2008. As I love reading books, but not keen on tons of books on my shelves, Bookcrossing just seemed perfect.

I finally came to the conclusion that I have hoarded too many books. Somehow I have found it too difficult to part with my books, even though:

1. I will never read any of them again

2. As a student with modest housing I do not have enough room

I tried getting rid of some of my books by donating them to my local student pub Ad fontes and their Bookcrossingshelf. (A shelf I advocated for when I volunteered as an event coordinator at said place, but honestly, I wasn’t doing it for my own sake). This plan worked in part, until I helped my mother move and suddenly acquired dozens of books she had stored for me. At the same time I went on exchange to Denmark and as my better half, Mr Longberg, did the same, albeit in a country much further away, I suddenly had even more time for reading. As a result, I am once more drowning in books.

What remedies should I try this time? Since I moved to Denmark, I have unfortunately not found any suitable spots to rid me of these books. It seems that Bookcrossing is big in German-and English-speaking countries and infinitely small in Denmark. I wonder why, is it because:

1. People in Denmark don’t read books (Sometimes I suspect this, and maybe I will just add Norway and Sweden as well. None of these countries rank high on activity on Bookcrossing, but still higher than Denmark.)

2. Bookcrossing is an old phenomenon (has been around since 2001) and has therefore lost it’s novelty?

3. Cheap paperbacks (the books that are most often Bookcrossed) are predominantly available in English and other languages with many speakers?

4. Are people just too rich in the Nordic countries to bother with sharing books? (except for Finland, ranking very high and also being poorer than DK-SWE-NO)

5. People are lazy in the North (I suspect maybe/yes/no)

6. Nordic citizens have many friends and daily non-internet encounters, and therefore we do not need to share our love for books on a website (Somehow I do no think this plausible)

7. Are the people of the North illiterate?

I could continue this list for ever. What is up with these Nordic citizens? I have seen the same tendency before with Postcrossing where Finland is clearly in the lead compared to the richer Nordic neighbours.

Ok, what will I do then? I think I will start a small project in Denmark, releasing books at various locations and see if they are either thrown away or taken without registering at Bookcrossing, or found by passers-by and registered, or found by members of Bookcrossing. I will leave books at various locations in Aarhus where I live at the moment. I suspect that leaving a book at Aarhus University will be more successful than leaving a book in the park or on a bus, maybe this highly subjective project will give me some much needed answers.