On the B.C. news site The Tyee, writer Lisa Richardson considers “The Art of Book Dropping,” in which readers leave their favourite books in public places, to be picked up by strangers. In recent years, the website bookcrossing.com has helped to formalize this activity: “The site has nearly 2 million books registered, and over 300,000 members,” writes Richardson. “Site visitors can track books, via an identifier number, as they meander about the literary underground — from backpack, to café corner, to bedside table.” But it’s not quite changing the world. “Only 10 to 25 percent of books dropped are caught, logged, tracked,” Richardson notes.

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Click here for the Tyee article on bookcrossing.com