I have loved reading for almost as long as I can remember. Starting from those first books that helped me learn to to read in Kindergarten and Elementary school it has been a consistent pleasure. It has adding immeasurably to my understanding of life and people.

I buy books at both regular and second hand bookstores, thrift shops, garage sales, and anywhere else they're available. I intend to read every one, but often my time available for reading is exceeded by the number of books I have on my shelves.

I give books away every year. Naturally I'm curious to see where some of my favourite books have gone.

I leave most of my books around Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, but whenever I travel, I've gotten into the habit of taking BookCrossing books with me. I've left them at Long Beach and other spots on Vancouver Island, the Okanagan, BC Provincial Parks, and places in Quebec and New England, Washington State and Arizona. I have also given books to friends who are going off travelling, in the hopes they will be picked up in some distant locale. Sadly, I haven't had too much success in hearing back from those books.

I like the idea of the wild release, and that's what inspired me to join BookCrossing. The overwhelming majority of my releases have been wild ones. It's that feeling you get as a kid when you put a message in a bottle and send it floating down the river or when you toss it into the ocean. I love to get reports back on my books. I keep my fingers crossed that I'll hear from some of those books I released years ago. The longest time between my release of a book and hearing back from it has been 5 years.

Starting in September 2004 and every year since, I've gone to "The Word on the Street", a book festival sponsored by the Vancouver Public Library, put on with the help of many volunteers. It's an annual event and features writers, music, and book and magazine sellers. I've both left books and found some. I highly recommend it for book lovers and readers of all kinds.

My first goal was to get 100 books in the wild. When I reached that mark I aimed at 200, and hoped to make it a little quicker than the first 100. Well, I think it took me longer, but I did reach 200, and now 300. I was hoping they'd move around more quickly than they have. A lot must have ended up like many of my books, sitting on bookshelves.

Now I'm just looking trim down the number of books on my shelves and get rid of some of those books piled on the living room floor. I'll let the numbers take care of themselves. Sometimes I think this hobby is a bit crazy, but I seem to be hooked. My urge to release books comes and goes in streaks and probably won't end any time soon.

Greetings to all readers and BookCrossers, and a special thanks to the writers who have provided me a lifetime of satisfying reading.