--- In [email protected], julia ott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
>
> i have another thought would you perfer a person to get a book
and put it up not only one the site but keep it or give it to
others. Me i collect a lot of books when i can because i read them
over and over again those are the ones that stay in my personal
collecting. I do not think that it seems fair that if i got that
book from someone else that it would be wrong to pass it on to
someone else weather for postage or just hand off as long as they
will journal it and take good care of it.
>> {snip}
There have been many threads on this subject in several of the BC
forums, whether it's "should BC books ever be sold" or "do you care
if a finder marks the book as 'PC'" - and I've even seen posts from
people who got upset because a BCer wild-released a book that they'd
sent them! Opinions vary widely, but I think everyone should be able
to see that there's no way to enforce strict book-handling behavior;
once a book's in someone else's possession there's not much you can
do about it, and it takes all the fun out of it if you try to control
things too much [especially when it's doomed to failure].
While I believe that the default expectation for BookCrossing books
is that they should travel, I don't think that this *requires* people
to pass them along as soon as possible. If you've found a BC book and
want to re-read it, share it with your kids, etc., I see nothing
wrong with keeping it; nor do I see a problem with wild-releasing it,
or offering it in trade, or even selling it. However, if you got the
book in trade from another BCer, there may be some expectations on
their part, so anyone who has strong feelings about this should, IMO,
make that clear whenever offering or accepting a trade or RABCK. That
is, if you love sending RABCKs but want the recipient to offer them
to other BCers when they're done, and can't stand the thought of them
being marked "PC" and kept indefinitely, it would help if you posted
that on your profile and mentioned it whenever arranging to send
someone a book: "I like my books to keep moving, so I hope you'll
pass it along once you've finished," etc. And if you are requesting
books that you want to keep indefinitely, it would help if you stated
that up front; many BCers wouldn't mind at all, they just want their
books to be appreciated, but others would be upset if they mailed you
a book that they thought was going to keep traveling and then noticed
that you'd PC-ed it. [None of these activities is "un-BookCrossing-
like behavior," mind; it's just that expectations and preferences
vary widely, and if you want to be sure that you're not upsetting
someone else or that they don't do something that peeves you, it may
help to be clear about expectations up front. If you *don't* have
strong feelings it's a lot simpler and more comfortable, but
everybody's preferences differ!]
My own hopes/expectations for my BC books: if you receive a BC book
(whether via trade, RABCK, bookring, finding in the wild, or
otherwise), make a journal entry as soon as you can (this lets the
releaser know the book was found/arrived safely/whatever, and puts it
on your shelf so you'll be able to journal or make release notes
later even if you no longer have the book in your possession); read
the book at your leisure (I always hope this will be within my
lifetime, but I wouldn't want to put pressure on someone to read a
book they weren't in the mood for or to release one they hadn't read
just because they felt obliged - although if the book's been lying
around for years and is still unread, maybe it's time it moved on);
add your comments (this is optional but much appreciated); and,
eventually, release the book - that is, pass it along by any means
you like (even if the "eventually" turns out to be posthumous {wry
grin}).
-GoryDetails
See the books I've set free at:
http://bookcrossing.com/referral/GoryDetails
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