BookCrossing

Today I was walking along the street with my friend Jesse on our way to sign for our new apartment, when I saw a book on a bus stop bench. I thought, "someone left a book here by accident." After reading the note taped to the cover, I realized that someone left the book there by design. The book is part of a phenomenon called "bookcrossing" that is defined in the following way:

bookcrossing n. the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise.

The definition was added to the OED in 2004, a fact that seems to be a source of great pride for the BookCrossing people. There is a website.

The book I found was A Bird in the House by Margaret Laurence. It's short, so I'll read it quickly and "release" it again. Doing that is apparently pretty decent karma.

It's a little bit like the library, but with a greater measure of forced serendipity.