Can I say.......

Hello 8+)

Howdy -

Hello, fellow BookCrossers!

It's nice to see you here.

Do any of you belong to local BookCrossing groups in your town? It was just within the past year that I've actually gotten together in person with fellow BookCrossers and have found it to be so much fun!

Yes....we have monthly get together at the Belmont Cinema cafe/bar in Aberdeen. Vicar-of-Dibley, Scottishhoosier, Wagtail, Ythan, Acme54, lost4words. That is our regular crew who come along. Visitors always welcome to join us on the 3rd Thursday of the month.

Hey Inver!! *waves*

And yup - we've got a very active group in Birmingham, UK! People always welcome to join us on the 4th (NOT the last) Saturday of the month at Hudsons Coffee House on Colmore Row (also an OBCZ)

--> 4 and 5

I belong to a group in the Washington, DC (USA) area. Our next meeting is to be this coming Sunday in Fairfax, Virginia (USA).

How many people usually attend your meetings?

I proposed an idea for one of our future meetings to try to get together with an active BookCrossing group from another state. The other members loved that idea. I think we'll wait until the weather will be warmer in the spring or summer, though, as a bit of travel might be involved.

We usually get 15 to 20 at our Saturday afternoon meetups.

It's great to travel to other groups - we regularly go down to Milton Keynes to Salcey Forest for a forest walk and a visit to the OBCZ there, and have also been to Shropshire and Warwickshire (neighbouring counties) as well as down to the Unconvention in Brighton last year (it was in our home town the previous 3!)

--> 7

That's a pretty nice size crowd.

How long has your group been getting together?

Do you have an agenda at your meetings or do you just exchange books and talk?

We're a pretty chatty group and love to do activities together. Our next group project will be a book festival in April. I'm planning to go to a book sale this weekend to pick up some cheap books I'll be able to either wild release or give away at that festival.

Since April 2005 - I started the group up again when I moved here, having been a BCer in London (where the meetups are HUGE but a bit more impersonal as there are just so many people!!!). We had 15 the first time, as friends came from other places plus a few new. We get one or two new people each time.

No agenda - just piles of books and chat about then or whatever. A fair amount of "book pushing" - us regulars know each other's taste, and the tension when we're waiting for my OH to text me what the latest Never Judge A Book By Its Cover theme is, as there's usually at least 2 of us doing that!

--> 9

the latest Never Judge A Book By Its Cover theme is, as there's usually at least 2 of us doing that!

What's that?

->10 SqueakyChu: have a look in the BC forums under release challenges and you'll find one near the top, started by Danesboxers. Basically, a theme for the cover is announced each week, and you release as many books as you can with that theme. You post your releases (wild or controlled) and catches (wild only) and there's a league table (though no prizes).

Themes have included author's name begins with K, jungle animals on the cover, jewellery on the cover, weather word in the title etc.

It does help one's releasing - I wild released over 1,000 books last year, having done 500 in 2004-06!!

Hope that explained it OK

--> 11

Thanks for the explanation. What this means to me is that I need to start amassing more books to wild release.

I'm a bit behind you. I've only released 123 books, while you've released 4,396 of them. It looks as if I have some catching up to do! :-)

Well, I do get a lot from a local charity shop who passes me the ones they would otherwise pulp (I do get to pick and choose now, thank goodness)... It's fun whatever level you do it on though. I won't do 1000 odd wildies in one year again, I don't think!

Well, I'm off to a bag sale tomorrow to pick up more books to wild release...

Howdy from Indiana too! No local BC groups here; very very few in the state, as a matter of fact. :-( And I've had very poor luck with wild releases in my hometown, for some reason, so I tend to release more when I go out of town. Sad but true . . . .

--> 15

All you need is just *one* other interested person to start a local BC group. Call yourselves "BC Friends" instead of a BC "group". See if you can meet someone in person, say in a coffee shop or similar place. Meet for pastries (or lunch) and coffee. Bring a few books to exchange. Then plan to do some wild releases together that day. That's how it starts...

The momentum comes from others seeing what fun you have together.

I know you are an active Bookcrosser because I see your name on BC fora often.