haven't been here for 2, maybe 3 weeks you see.... (been moving house). good to see we've got our own forum back! now I feel I can ramble on without having to be on topic... because Australia is a pretty big topic. May as well make use of this message while someone is reading it, so, please check out www.bookcrossing.com/hunt to find free books in your town! Register and release ur own books, too Also, if you have ever lived in a sharehouse you should read John Birmingham's "He Died With A Felafel In His Hand". Funniest book I've ever read! And yeah, it's set in Australia and it is sooo true.
Hey Charbono! good to see you're still around Where have you moved to?? I finally signed up to Bookcrossing and registered a few books, but i gotta find a decent place around Adelaide to leave them. I want to leave them somewhere unique so that someone interesting will find them! Any ideas? Oh and Felafal is on my "to read" list. I loved the movie, it matches my own life perfectly!! But i heard the book is completely different? Anyhoo, let's keep this place alive!!
hellooooo!! good to see you too ImaPeach!!! my moving house has been soooo good!!! old house: ... new house: no hot water ... 3 showers a day 1 hr walk into town ... 1 minute walk into town someone else's house ... MY house no space/time to myself ... still not really any space or time to myself lol no rent ... $120 / week rent so yeah, the rent sucks but it's worth it just for the hot water. I was used to walking into town to pay $2 to have a shower. I've got a backpacker staying with me at the moment who is paying $50/week, so that helps. I'm still living in the same town (Renmark). I used to work only 2 hrs a day, but I've been working full-time the last few weeks picking fruit (oranges, mandarines & tangellos). If you need work, come to Renmark, they have 600 vacancies and because of the fruit rot in QLD, they are desperate for pickers. It's great working in the outdoors and the pay is good (about $15/hr if you take it easy, 25 if you work flatout). You can work at your own pace, in the fresh air and sunshine, and eat all the fruit you want So yeah, I'm loving it. Sure beats cleaning (my previous job). You get sore shoulders but you get fit too. As for re: bookcrossing, ever been to clearlight wholefoods in rundle street? I know a few books have crossed there. But really, wherever you leave them, someone will find them.... they might not be journalled right away, but hopefully eventually they will find their way into the hands of someone who will log onto bookcrossing and let you know where they're at.... some books have not been heard of for years, and then the releaser will get a message telling them that the book has been found and journalled halfway around the world! But I know, it is scary releasing a book into the wild, especially if it's one you love. The other thing you could do is a "themed release" - in a place which has something to do with the book. I released "Animal Farm" in the local council offices (heh) and Jeanette Winterson's "Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit" at the Big Orange in Berri *grin* So yeah, just have fun!! Or if they're really good books, give them to a friend to read & release... takes the stress out of it!! Wow, this has turned into quite a long ramble! It's quarter to two in the morning here and I have to work tomorrow (today,),.. so i should go!! catch ya later.... PS. Can't comment on the felafel movie as I haven't seen it, but the book is great.
WOW! i was begining to thing i was the only book crossing member in the whole of australia... despite the numbers posted on their boards. i would go to school and tell people i'd released a book into the wild, and they would stare at me like i'd sprouted shrek ears. then i'd try to explain and they'd back away slowly trying to avoid eye contact. or say, 'why would you just use a library like a normal person'. do you find it hard to choose books to release? i don't like giving away books i really like, as i'll want to read them several times. but then i don't like giving away crap books either, thats no fun!
hello! no, you're not alone! In fact there is a mailing list just for aussie BookCrossers - check out BCAUS. I recommend selecting "no email" if you do sign up to it, as you can still read & post messages from the site, and there are quite a few new messages each day. What are some of your favourite books? How did you first hear about the website? There are actually hundreds of new Aussies signing up every week (6000 Aussie members in Feb this year, now 11500), so at the rate we're going, we literally will make the whole world a library! (and there are 28 other BCers in your town!) I figure that the more books I release, the more other people will release too. I have hundreds of books in my house, all waiting to be read and registered. I hope you get to find one in the wild soon! I don't know what it's like where you live, but all the books I go hunting for are gone by the time I get there - except in Adelaide where they have heaps of OBCZ's with piles of books at each one. There are literally hundreds of free books in a square km radius! due to quite a few dedicated individuals who maintain the crossing zones. In reply to your questions, it can be hard choosing books to release. I plan to go travelling next year, so I've set myself the goal of registering ALL my books, even the ones I love. Ones that are really precious to me (and especially my non-fiction drug-related ones that you can only buy from overseas) I'll send on a bookray ending in Australia, so that they can reach as many interested people as possible. Other books that I don't really care about, I have released already into the local wilds. Since joining BC, I've registered & released every book I've read (except library books). I figure, if I don't register them, someone else will. Even if it's a book I didn't like, I figure maybe someone else will like it. And the more books in the wild, the better. If you ever see anything on my bookshelf that you want to read, PM me and I'll send it to you!! ImaPeach - what's your BC name??
I love the Clearlight!! That's a great idea! Also was thinking about maybe leaving one at the Kava Hut, it's bound to be picked up by someone interesting there! And the theme idea is good too. I have a book called "By Grand Central Station I sat Down and Wept" which i might leave at the train station. Hm... looks like i'll have to have a bookcrossing day sometime this week before uni gets back on Monday...... blah :$ I was enjoying my holidays. I'm glad the moving's gone well for ya! I can't believe anyone actually enjoys fruit picking! How can you bear it in this weather??.... especially up by the frosty river!? and I know what you mean about the shower, my last flat didn't have one so i had to take a bath every morning! It was quite pleasant actually, once i got used to it. haha... we can deceive ourselves into believing anything is enjoyable when we're living on a student budget...... My BC name is Jophesine. I'm gonna go find more books now... i'm getting excited about it again!! hehe...
I've actually released 2 books at the Kava hut! It was a couple of months ago by now, so they're probably gone, but I put one on the shelf with the games and hid another down the side of one of the brown loungechairs. (might still be there???) Fruit picking is actually not too bad - once you start moving, you're not cold, in fact it gets quite hot. Was picking oranges today (my favourite), soooo easy, just reach and pull/twist. Mandies and Tangellos aren't as easy, as you have to snip them, so you're using both hands for only half as much fruit. My shoulders are very sore today tho *grrr*, and I have welts on my neck from the bag straps. And then there's all the bloody thorns, (did you know orange trees have thorns? they sting) and twigs, and lots of different spiders (but I like them - at least u know the grower isn't using pesticides). But the worst thing is the 12-foot ladders. I love being up them, but being on the ground and trying to move them 2 metres while they tangle in weeds and weigh a ton is frustrating, exhausting and time-wasting. Some of the weeds are over a metre tall, it's ridiculous. I literally had to fight my way to the trees. LOL. Yes, like telling yourself you don't really mind waiting another 30 minutes for the next bus to take you somewhere that's only 5 minutes away... I still don't have my license (well, I've got Vic L's, but no use over here) and I hate cars. However I am a hypocrite because I accept rides from other people and pay for their petrol. So I may as well have a car. I just wish I could have one that would run on veggie oil. *sigh* Anyway, I'm up late again (12:30am) and should go to bed. I guess as long as I keep posting the forum is getting new messages! have a good day tomorrow everyone.
