A self-confessed bookworm - whose pet hates include people who dog-ear pages or leave them open face-down(!!!) - I think this idea of sharing and tracking books is brilliant and compulsively addictive (but maybe that's just my obsessive streak coming through).

I had read about BookCrossing in various newspapers/mags but hadn't really checked out the site until I found a wild release, 84 Charing Cross Road, on a train. Excitement-plus and instant addiction!

I like to learn or be made to think when I read - so I love a good auto/biography, travel stories, true crime, gastronomic anthologies or psychology/sociology.

Book rays/rings I am hosting (PM me to join!):
AUS/NZ ONLY Indulgence by Paul Richardson One man's selfless search for the best chocolate in the world
AUS/NZ ONLY Join Me by Danny Wallace True story akin to BookCrossing meets Pay It Forward
INT'AL Fear of Flying by Erica Jong Sexy, sassy and hilarious

Concluded book rays/rings (sorry these have closed)
The Bride Stripped Bare by Anonymous
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
How to Save Your Own Life by Erica Jong
Lunch of Blood by Antonella Gambotto
Pants on Fire by Maggie Alderson

Book rays/rings I'm participating in:
Nb. Bold = I have in my possession; Strike-through = I have read and passed it on
Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach - tqd
Man and Wife by Tony Parson - littlemave
A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby - kirst040
Shopaholic Abroad by Sophie Kinsella - BookFrog
Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss - BrisKJJ
Sellevision: A Novel by Augusten Burroughs - servalan
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier - fushmush
Stasiland by Anna Funder - tqd
Thai Die by Greg Fleet - felicia-fairy
The Diving Bell and tthe Butterfly by Jean-Dominque Bauby - lakelady2282
Unreliable Memoirs by Clive James - ada2
Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella - fushmush
The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank - tqd

Recent reads

Recommended reads:
Me Talk Pretty One Day and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
Not on the Label by Felicity Lawrence
No Logo by Naomi Klein
A Secret Country by John Pilger

Wild releases caught:
~~~2008~~~~~~~
Jan 08 - Journey from Venice - Ruth Cracknell, Sydney Theatre, and joined
Jan 08 - My Career Goes Bung - Miles Franklin, Sydney Theatre, and joined
~~~2007~~~~~~~
May 07 It - Steven King, Kalbarrie WA via Sydney Central YHA
Mar 07 Night Dragon - Steven Jackson, Ian Livingstone et at, Sydney Central YHA
~~~2006~~~~~~~
May 06 - Trixie Belden and the Mystery of the Velvet Gown - Kathryn Kenny, Darling Habour, and joined
Mar 06 - The John Lennon Story - John Swenson, Dendy Newtown
~~~2005~~~~~~~
Sep 13 - Natural Causes - Michael Palmer, Port O'Call, Port Douglas
Jul 13 - Before and Again - Doris Mortman, Skygarden, Pitt Street Mall
Jul 13 - Liar's Game - Eric Jerome Dickey, Skygarden, Pitt Street Mall
Apr 24 - Hot Flashes - Barbara Raskin, Northside Produce Market, and joined
Apr 21 - What Became of Us - Imogen Parker, Paddington Verona cinema, and joined
~~~2004~~~~~~~
Oct 11 - The Firemaker - Peter May, Ultimo Pedestrian Network, and joined
Jul 28 - Eminent Domain - Carl Huberman, Railway Square
Jul 20 - Airs Above the Ground - Mary Stewart, walkway between Centrepoint and Myer, and joined
Jul 14 - The Prodigal Daughter - Jeffrey Archer, QVB
Jun 29 - Jade Tiger - Craig Thomas, Syd City Library, and joined
Jun 22 - Peril at End House - Agatha Christie, Syd City Library, and joined
Jun 17 - Mrs McGinty's Dead - Agatha Christie, Syd City Library, and joined
Jun 12 - Kelp - Linda Aronson, DJs Food Halll, and joined
Jun 10 - Games - Frances Edmonds, QVB, and joined
Jun 01 - The Ebony Tower - John Fowles, Syd City Library
May 24 - The Prodigal Daughter - Jeffrey Archer, train, and joined
May 08 - Boiling a Frog - Christopher Brookmyre, Syd City Library
Mar 30 - Something Fishy - Shane Maloney, QVB

Favourite catches
Most travelled:
Mahdia,Tunisia, New Delhi, India, Hong Kong and Chile

Themed releases:
Kelp in the Japanese section at DJs Food Hall
Airs Above the Ground along the walkway between Centrepoint and Myer

Browsing the AugustusGloop bookshelf?
Click here to see my whole bookshelf on one page--thanks casualreader!