lose the reasons for it

Though he had begun to wonder, after a certain period of not working, if you couldn't simply forget how to work, forget the particulars, lose the reasons for it. And once that happened, it could become possible never to hold another job as long as you lived. To become a statistic: the chronically unemployed. The thought worried him.

-- "Fireworks" in Rock Springs by Richard Ford

BookCrossing: Towards Zero

Another Vegas catch! We were just there last week and I already have a 40% catch rate for the books I released in Sin City (2 of 5). My all-time catch rate now sits at 12.558% (54 of 430).

The second Vegas catch came yesterday and is for one of the two books I left - on different days - in the pool area of MGM Grand. Towards Zero, by Agatha Christie, was picked up by a new BookCrossing member (my twentieth new member referral!) from the far east state of New York. The journal entry made by jujucafarini is superb:

I found this book sunning himself at the pool at the MGM Grand Hotel on March 23, 2009. I had just finished a book I received as a gift and was getting desperate for something, anything to read. And there he was getting all sunburned & needing my attention. So I enjoyed his company for the rest of my trip & brought him with me to Coram,Long Island, New York, where he is now going to visit my sister in Blue Point, N.Y.

Here's a link to Towards Zero on BookCrossing.

BookCrossing: Dynasty

My wife and son and I were in Las Vegas from Monday to Thursday and during that time I released five books into the wild. Just like last year, I knew we wouldn't have web access so I would have to wait until we were back home to make release notes. It was possible to make all five release notes before departing for Vegas, but since I didn't know where I'd be leaving each book I decided to wait until after. Preferably no one would have made a journal entry catch before I made it onto BookCrossing, but hey, I wouldn't have been unhappy if I came home to a catch or two. Just would've edited my last journal entry and it's all good.

Got home and checked BookCrossing and no catches. Good, I guess. Being very tired at about 1:30am Friday, I considered making release notes after catching a lot of winks, but decided to do them then and there and am glad I did because a journal entry catch was made on Eileen Lottman's Dynasty sometime that day. That was the first book released - on Monday in MGM Grand. The journal entry:

I was in the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas and found it on a table there. As an avid reader i hought it was a neat idea so picked it up. I am going to read it and pass it on

Here's a link to Dynasty on BookCrossing.

an idea that stops existing

"He didn't say that," I said. But I'd said it enough, and I didn't care if she believed me or didn't. It was true that trust was not a big issue between us then. And in any event, I know now that the whole truth of anything is an idea that stops existing finally.

-- "Great Falls" in Rock Springs by Richard Ford

without getting drunk beforehand

"Oh, I'm sorry"

He grabbed at her wrist in apology.

"No, it's fine."

Zoe raised her wet glass and drank from it, smiling to show him everything was all right. They were not, she realized, bad people, either of them. They could not do what they were about to do without getting drunk beforehand.

-- "Family" in Choose Me by Evelyn Lau

BookCrossing: Thelonius Monk His Life and Music

This book - Thelonius Monk His Life and Music by Thomas Fitterling - has never passed through my hands, but yesterday I saw it under Recently Caught on BookCrossing's left sidebar. Because it was caught by AnonymousFinder, I clicked on it to read about its journey.

Turns out it was released by Queen-Kitty in Olympia, Washington, USA, in June 2002. S/he released three books that month, with those being his/her only releases thus far. None of the three had been heard from since their respective releases, until yesterday's journal entry. The length of time between release and catch - 6 years, 9 months, 2 days - is an unofficial new BookCrossing record. "Unofficial" because it's impossible to know what each book's length of time is without going through each of them individually. Of the known lengthy release-to-catches, this one is the longest. Here's yesterday's journal entry:

Can you believe I have been sitting on this book for years. Ah, what bad kharma. I'm going to read and release this month, returning it to the Great River of Chance.

Here's a link to Thelonius Monk His Life and Music on BookCrossing.

Between the Bridge and the River by Craig Ferguson

I started reading this on August 31, 2008. Man - it takes me forever to finish a book, eh? Several times I went several weeks without touching this one, and didn't get into the flow of it until a couple of weeks ago. It was entertaining enough as it was going, but in hindsight - having finished last night - there could have been more. While I enjoy watching Craig Ferguson on his Late Late Show television program, his writing style - much like his standup at Richmond's River Rock - didn't grab me.

Between the Bridge and the River on BookCrossing.

ho-mo-sex-uality

Cherry took a little bow. The applause was building, the Reverend really had to yell now to be heard. He pointed at T-Bo. "He cured this young man of ho-mo-sex-uality!"

T-Bo didn't feel it was the right time to correct the preacher.

-- Between the Bridge and the River by Craig Ferguson

BookCrossing: Dragonslayer

Another catch! Last July, I made release notes for Wayland Drew's Dragonslayer, noting its downtown placement outside Vancouver Art Gallery. On our recent Friday the 13th (BOO!), I found Dragonslayer on our bookshelves. Oops. I released it - for real this time - later that same day inside a Georgia Straight box on Dunbar, near my parents' place.

On Monday the 23rd (BOO!), a journal entry was made by a brand-new BookCrossing member. Here's what ChrisB12 wrote:

Found on top of that Georgia Straight box on Dunbar Avenue at 18th Avenue, Vancouver, BC. Saw the movie, haven't time to read the book, too busy surviving, finding a job, etc. Would have read it in my 20's, I'm 60 now. I'll set it free in Burnaby. That was Feb 22, 2009 (2/22/09). BTW: This is very cool. I've been reducing my library - I'll release a few gems to the Universe soon.

Here's a link to Dragonslayer on BookCrossing.

engineers and referees

"Time is only linear for engineers and referees," said V.

-- Between the Bridge and the River by Craig Ferguson

BookCrossing: In Pale Battalions

Horseshoes up my butt. Yesterday's wild release number 423 - Robert Goddard's In Pale Battalions at a bus stop in downtown Vancouver - received a same-day journal entry catch. Consecutive days with catches - I could get used to this!

My catch rate now sits at 12.05%.

Yesterday's journal entry:

I found this book at a bus stop on Davie and Burrard, and I have begun reading it, not sure where I plan to leave it.

Here's a link to In Pale Battalions on BookCrossing.

BookCrossing: Waking Raphael

On Friday I wild released three books in three different locations. As I usually do after releasing several books at once, I kept checking my BookCrossing profile to see if my releases caught number had increased. C'mon c'mon, don't be 73, don't be 73. BookCrossing does email notifications, of course, but I only get end-of-day summaries and sometimes I'm just a little too impatient.

Sunday morning I checked and, sure enough, my releases caught stood at 74. Yes! I checked my recent releases to see which one it was and was surprised to find that none of my most recent three had received journal entries. So I kept scrolling down the page and it wasn't until I reached the last book on the first page (book 50!) that I saw a "set by [username]" that didn't ring a bell. Waking Raphael by Leslie Forbes was released by yours truly last June during Car-Free Day on Commercial Drive. I released it right onto the street itself, on the yellow centre line. My first thought was that the journal entry was made by a new member, but no - s/he's been a member since last February.

It's appropriate that the book was the 50th on the page, as this was the 50th catch of my wild releases. Today I performed wild release number 423, and some quick calculations shows that as of this sentence being written my wild release catch rate is 11.82%. The aforementioned number for my releases caught (74) includes all my wild releases, but also all the books that I have made journal entries on that subsequently received journal entries by others - books that were mailed to other BookCrossers or given to friends, for example.

Here's the journal entry for Waking Raphael:

I picked this up on Commercial Drive in Vancouver, right where it was left. I have had it since then and haven't had the chance to read it. After I have read it, I will release it.

Waking Raphael on BookCrossing.

love through concern and interference

And she was right. It wasn't that her mother didn't love her, it's just that Janice could only express love through concern and interference, and you can't really apply that to someone who's doing fine.

-- Between the Bridge and the River by Craig Ferguson

BookCrossing: Different Seasons

I've been busy and haven't done much BookCrossing lately. I have a whole lot of books that need releasing but they first need labelling and the past few months I've been too work busy to have time, or energy. And, hey - I became a dad on Thursday! One might think that would decrease my spare time even more, but I'm on pat leave for a few months and plan on sending a lot of books out into the wild during that time. There are also a lot of books on my to-be-read shelves.

Last Saturday I released Different Seasons at Metrotown, and author Stephen King got a positive review by the book's catcher (a new member!) in Wednesday's journal entry:

i have not read the book yet, but i admire with the reputation of Stephen king. fubulous! THANK YOU SO MUCN!

Here's a link to Different Seasons on BookCrossing.