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Have you ever picked up a random book on a bench, or on a train seat and thought, “Wait… did someone just leave this for me?”

That magical little moment is exactly what I’ve fallen in love with and I’ve been quietly plotting ways to send my books back into the world, not to gather dust on my shelves, but to keep living new lives with new readers.

Two of my favourite ways to do this are through BookCrossing and Little Free Libraries.

So, BookCrossing – What is it?

Imagine a massive worldwide game of pass the parcel, but with novels instead of trinkets hidden within crumpled wrapping paper. That’s BookCrossing. You register a book, give it a unique tracking ID, stick the label on one of the inner pages and then you either:

• Wild release it – leave it in the wild (park bench, bus stop, pub loo, you name it) and wait for someone to find it, or
• Controlled release it – hand it to another BookCrosser, a friend, a family member — like a polite baton exchange.

But here’s the best bit: when someone finds a BookCrossing book, they can go to the website, type in that unique ID, and make a little journal entry saying “hey, I’ve got it!”. That one note suddenly links you and them — even if you’re strangers. From there, you can watch the books journey, see who reads it next, and maybe even get a message years later when it pops up in another country. It’s like digital footprints for books.

The best part? You don’t even have to register to make a journal — you can do it completely anonymously. (Obvs I’d prefer it if you joined in and we became friends 😉).

Journal entries can be surprisingly wholesome too. Imagine finding something like this in your inbox:

“Picked this up in a café in Manchester on my lunch break — what a brilliant surprise! I’ve just started reading it and plan to leave it at my local train station when I’m done. Thanks for sharing it!”

That’s the kind of thing that makes you grin like an idiot. Suddenly your old book has a brand new story, and you’re part of it!

And it’s not just me messing about with stickers and novels. BookCrossing is HUGE! : nearly 2 million members worldwide, over 13 million books registered, and here in the UK there are around 77,000 of us secretly scattering books like literary Easter eggs. And it’s not just one-off drops — there are also book rings (where the book comes back to me eventually) and book rays (where it just keeps going, forever, like a paper-backed relay baton).

I’ve started cataloguing my own “to-be-released” pile. Some are earmarked for wild adventures, others will be part of swaps or Wishlist trades. You can actually peek at my BookCrossing profile to see what’s been set free, or you can check my blog page for a list of books and locations. Who knows? You might even find one if you’re in the right place at the right time.

Then there are Little Free Libraries. You’ve probably seen them without even realising — those adorable birdhouse-shaped boxes in towns and cities that invite you to “take a book, leave a book.”

There are over 200,000 registered around the world in more than 120 countries, and the UK has a growing number tucked into everywhere from bustling high streets to sleepy village greens.

Every time I stock one with a new title, I imagine who might stumble across it — a tired commuter, a kid on their way home from school, a retiree out for a walk. I love the thought that the right story finds the right person at exactly the right time.

Why I’m doing this

This isn’t just a fun hobby for me — I’m genuinely advocating for more people in the UK to get involved. The more of us setting books free, the more smiles we spread. Think about it: you could make someone’s whole day with the simple act of leaving a story behind for them to find.

So here’s my challenge to you:
Make someone smile today. Send them a book. Leave one in a Little Free Library. Register one on BookCrossing. Start the chain.

And if you’re curious, join me on BookCrossing (don’t forget to use my referral link so we can connect straight away). Because honestly? The world could always use more unexpected books in unexpected places.

Let’s keep books moving, together 🖤