St. Andrews graduation in the snow

I joined BookCcrossing in 2008 after reading about it in a newspaper.  The idea of books in the wild just grabbed me.  Unfortunately I’ve never caught a single book and have only had 4 wild releases journalled – but they may turn up yet!   What I especially love about BookCrossing is being introduced to new genres by other BookCrossers.  I also love RABCKs – not just receiving books but receiving messages from people I’ve sent books to.   The last one started “I think I love you!”.  That just made my day.

I’m looking forward to meeting lots of people at the Uncon and I love the author talks.  I’m delighted to have discovered Stephen Booth and can’t believe how many Uncon bookrays we’ve got through.  I’m afraid I won’t have many books to release this time because my 4p flight doesn’t give me much baggage allowance but it will stop me bringing too many books home.  For anyone not reading the fora, my attempt at reducing Mt TBR is failing miserably as I now have 9 years worth of books waiting.

As for life outside BookCrossing, I don’t seem to have one.  I graduated last November after doing my Masters part-time while working full-time and I hoped life would start again after that.  However work took over instead and I worked seven days a week until June.    I’ve spent the last couple of months sleeping when not working and my plan is for life to start in October (or maybe 23^rd September).  I’ve attached a photo of me at my graduation but I’m very far away, as I don’t like my photograph being taken.  I managed to avoid being in any photos from last year’s release walk by taking them for people.  I believe that is my handy work on the home page.

Gary / GaryJ

According to my GaryJ profile, I’ve been on BookCrossing since January 2006. That’s slightly misleading, as I’d been to the 2005 BCUK Unconvention in Birmingham as well as several local events before that, although I was known back then as Gazza1980. My other half (katie1980) was already signed up to BookCrossing in the hope of “being able to give away lots of books” (!) and I was just tagging along.

I’m not much of a book reader, probably only reading a 2-3 books a year (yes, a year), though once I get started on a book, it’s usually finished in a couple of days. I have no desire to start a new book, yet when I do, I’m often as excited as anyone to get to the end.

My favourite authors historically are Andy McNab and Chris Ryan (both for the SAS / covert operations stories), Dean Koontz (although some of his books don’t grab me), and various horror authors that get passed on after katie1980 has finished with them.

If I’m not an avid reader, why am I part of BookCrossing? Quite simply, it’s the social aspect for me. I’ve made good friends from BookCrossing (several attended our wedding) and I enjoy the atmosphere at the meets.

Some BookCrossing socials just can't be explained... (Uncon 2007, Brighton)

My interests lie in web development, which is handy considering that I work as a freelance web developer. It’s for this reason, having been disappointed with the websites and information communication from previous Uncons, that I volunteered myself for this year’s BCUK Uncon Committee as the role of webmaster to show how I think it could / should be done.

We’ve not been 100% perfect, but from the compliments we got when the site was launched and the ongoing feedback (and perhaps more importantly, the very few problems highlighted to us), I think it’s been successful. Everyone has access to the information from a variety of sources and media that suits them, and we’ve provided several methods of getting in touch with the committee.

The rest of the committee have done an excellent job with each of their different roles, and without skirting around the cliché, it’s been a real team effort to get everything organised. I have every confidence the event itself will go as smoothly as the planning has. If it doesn’t, you’ll find me in the corner, reading a book…

Tired Readers, by suedo283 on Flickr (Convention 2008, London)

Ardachy

Hi I’m Trevor. I joined Bookcrossing in April 2006 when I was living on the Black Isle in Scotland and discovered the ‘Books on Bens’ webpage that swan-scot had going. ‘Ardachy’ was the name of the Bed and Breakfast I ran with my wife and I started by releasing books in our guest rooms and local beauty spots. I loved the way that BookCrossing integrated my three interests which were reading, walking and photography.

In 2008 we moved back to East Anglia for family reasons and I became even more active, attending my first BC Convention in Amsterdam and my first UnCon in Swindon. I help manage a number of OBCZs in the Colchester area and regularly attend meet-ups with other BookCrossers. I started Essex BookCrossing and BookCrossing Around Colchester and volunteered as a Region Manager. I also became a member of the BookCrossing team on Kiva which you will probably see me promoting at the UnCon.

My preparations for the UnCon mainly revolve round my roles as Region Manager and Kiva Team Captain but I am also looking forward to meeting old friends like swan-scot and getting to know BookCrossers I have not met before. Having recently taken 1700 books to a festival in Colchester, together with karen07814 and others, I look forward to seeing even more books at the UnCon.

Surprisingly, I do have time for other interests and these include walking, cycling, politics and real ale ( not necessarily in that order! ) and I can be found at various places on the internet including twitter as @ardachybc.

MissMarkey (in her Uncon polo shirt)

Hi, here I am doing what I like to do most – reading in the garden. I’m really enjoying this ‘Aberystwyth’ series by Malcolm Pryce.It’s my current favourite genre – quirky murder mystery.