katekintailbc (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
katekintailbc) wrote2013-02-13 09:15 pm
katekintailbc) wrote2013-02-13 09:15 pm
Wild Releasing... again
Confession: I'm a bad BookCrosser
Reality: Not really; I just feel guilty
I love wild releasing books. I love seeing them get picked up. I love journal entries when books get caught--I just got one on a book from 2008 I didn't even make release notes on. But ever since the year of the 2011 BookCrossing Convention in Washington, D.C., I haven't wild released much. My entire life is defined by "the convention" with "before" and "after" and my release habits in the "after" time are pathetic. Of course, there's nothing that says that a BookCrosser has to wild release. Plenty of BookCrossers just exchange books or do controlled releases. Still, I feel guilty about not wild releasing. I've even started buying books at my library every time I go volunteering (4 for $1) to give myself a little release fodder each week and STILL I haven't wild released.
Today, however, I braved the cold and the rain to wild release some books in memory of ResQgeek's daughter, Becky. Her birthday is Feb 14 but I wanted to release them on the evening of the 13th so people would find them on the 14th and have a happy Valentine's Day because of them. I even got up early to go to work so I could leave work early and get to Alexandria (I hoped) before it got dark. It was a good plan.
However, it was raining and cold by the time I left work. I got worried that the BookCrossing bags I'd used were too thin and the books would get ruined, so I took them all out of their bags, put them in ziplocks, and put the books back in again; that cost me time and it was dark by the time I got to Alexandria. And--silly person that I am--I didn't cut the pink ribbon into pieces ahead of time and afix them to the bags (I wanted to adjust the lengths based on the branches). So there I am in the rain and the dark without a flashlight, straining to see the pink ribbon as I cut it into pieces and use packing tape to tape it to bags using fingers numb from the cold. Some of the pieces of tape got too wet to stick and I dropped two pieces on the ground and had to feel around in the wet grass until I found them so I wouldn't litter. My hand HURT and tingled when I got back in the car afterward and tried to warm up and dry off, but it's okay now.
The effort was totally worth it, though. I released 12 books (Becky would have been turning 12 this year) on the tree, all in BookCrossing bags, hanging with pink ribbon, and with pink heart post-it notes urging people to take them home and enjoy them. One of these years when I do this, I'll have to take off the afternoon from work and go there during the day for a proper photo. But I'll settle for being able to use my hands afterward. LOL
I've got a couple books set aside to release tomorrow. And I'm hoping these releases will throw me back into the habit of wild releasing. It used to be that I couldn't leave the house without a book to wild release. And I have made a few efforts in 2011 and 2012, but this time I hope it takes and I start wild releasing like I used to.
Reality: Not really; I just feel guilty
I love wild releasing books. I love seeing them get picked up. I love journal entries when books get caught--I just got one on a book from 2008 I didn't even make release notes on. But ever since the year of the 2011 BookCrossing Convention in Washington, D.C., I haven't wild released much. My entire life is defined by "the convention" with "before" and "after" and my release habits in the "after" time are pathetic. Of course, there's nothing that says that a BookCrosser has to wild release. Plenty of BookCrossers just exchange books or do controlled releases. Still, I feel guilty about not wild releasing. I've even started buying books at my library every time I go volunteering (4 for $1) to give myself a little release fodder each week and STILL I haven't wild released.
Today, however, I braved the cold and the rain to wild release some books in memory of ResQgeek's daughter, Becky. Her birthday is Feb 14 but I wanted to release them on the evening of the 13th so people would find them on the 14th and have a happy Valentine's Day because of them. I even got up early to go to work so I could leave work early and get to Alexandria (I hoped) before it got dark. It was a good plan.
However, it was raining and cold by the time I left work. I got worried that the BookCrossing bags I'd used were too thin and the books would get ruined, so I took them all out of their bags, put them in ziplocks, and put the books back in again; that cost me time and it was dark by the time I got to Alexandria. And--silly person that I am--I didn't cut the pink ribbon into pieces ahead of time and afix them to the bags (I wanted to adjust the lengths based on the branches). So there I am in the rain and the dark without a flashlight, straining to see the pink ribbon as I cut it into pieces and use packing tape to tape it to bags using fingers numb from the cold. Some of the pieces of tape got too wet to stick and I dropped two pieces on the ground and had to feel around in the wet grass until I found them so I wouldn't litter. My hand HURT and tingled when I got back in the car afterward and tried to warm up and dry off, but it's okay now.
![photo BeckyTree-2013-04_zps4a3b35eb.jpg](http://kintailscape.com/images/BookBlog/BeckyTree-2013-01_zps3529b52c.jpg")
The effort was totally worth it, though. I released 12 books (Becky would have been turning 12 this year) on the tree, all in BookCrossing bags, hanging with pink ribbon, and with pink heart post-it notes urging people to take them home and enjoy them. One of these years when I do this, I'll have to take off the afternoon from work and go there during the day for a proper photo. But I'll settle for being able to use my hands afterward. LOL
- Thinking of You
- The Case of the Cat's Meow
- Horse Crazy
- Valentine Thoughts
- Heart of the Sea
- Hugs for Women
- The Te of Piglet
- How About a Hug?
- Winnie-the-Pooh: Just Be Nice and Get Ready for Bed
- Pooh Loves You
- Top Wing
- Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree
I've got a couple books set aside to release tomorrow. And I'm hoping these releases will throw me back into the habit of wild releasing. It used to be that I couldn't leave the house without a book to wild release. And I have made a few efforts in 2011 and 2012, but this time I hope it takes and I start wild releasing like I used to.