January Stats

Wild Releases: 18
RABCKs: 40
Catches: 2

Wild Release #521

Somehow I got conned into going to Jioio's after work and bringing it home to share with Mom and Sister No. 6 even though Sister No. 6 lives much nearer to Jioio's than I do. In the end, though, I can't really complain because not only did I have delicious Jioio's pizza for dinner, I also released "The Mosquito Coast," by Paul Theroux, on a chair in the waiting room on my way out the door.

Wild Release #520

Snow and cold air have returned to southwestern Pennsylvania with a vengeance. Since one should never be caught with an empty gas tank when cold air arrives, I made sure to fill up at Sunoco on Mt. Pleasant & Urania on my way home from work. I left Michael Crichton's "The Andromeda Strain" on top of the gas pump for the next conscientious driver (and hopefully, reader) to find.

Wild Release #519

This book insisted on a clever release, so I took it with me to Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store and left it hanging on the rack with the sewing needles.

Wild Release #518

Food and a car wash were on my lunch menu today. The snow has finally stopped, the roads are dry, and my car is filthy from weeks of salt. There is a car wash right next to a Subway/Rax on Route 119 in South Greensburg, so that's where I headed. On my way in to get a sandwich, I left "No Surrender," by Mike Collins, et al., on the window ledge inside the side entrance. Sadly, Rax seems to have surrendered: Subway/Rax is just a Subway now.

Wild Release #517

I was walking down North Main Street in Greensburg on the way to my car, and saw a naked bench in the Helman-Ghrist parking lot in need of a book, so I left "Swan Dive," by Jeremiah Healy, to keep the bench company.

Wild Release #516

Tonight I was able to do a nice little themed release of Caroline B. Cooney's "Emergency Room" at the MedExpress Urgent Care Center in the Eastgate Plaza along Route 30 East in Greensburg. I left it on a narrow window ledge outside on the sidewalk around 7:30 p.m.

RABCKs #122 - #161

Forty children's and young adult books are on their way to Tribefan, in Lakemore, Ohio, for The Rubber City Book Posse's mass release at the Akron Family Reading Festival on February 7. Good luck with your event!

Catch #64!

"A Little Yellow Dog" has found a new home with a new member! Hollyenglish reports that she found the book at PetSmart. Thanks for joining and journalling, Hollyenglish, and welcome to BookCrossing!

Wild Releases #514 & #515

I was in the vicinity of T.G.I. Friday's in Greensburg today, so I decided to leave a book for all those poor, hungry patrons who may have been waiting for a table. I released "Curse," by Alan Grant, on the bench outside the front doors. After that mission of mercy, I went to the other end of town to do some shopping at Barnes & Noble. Although they didn't have what I wanted to purchase, I didn't let that stop me from leaving a book outside on a ledge--Nicholas Evans' "The Horse Whisperer."

Catch #63!

Captain Underpants has made his way across the great state of Pennsylvania. Although logged in by an Anonymous Finder, I have it on good authority that he travelled to Philadelphia with Sister No. 1, who picked up the book at Panera Bread as we all left the restaurant and she brought up the rear. She plans to pass it on to a young friend who adores the Captain Underpants series, so hopefully we will hear from "The Adventures of Captain Underpants," by Dav Pilkey again. It's great to have my first catch of 2009!

Wild Release #513

I was going to leave this book outside the First Commonwealth Bank behind the East Pittsburgh Street Shop 'n Save, so I had it bundled up in a plastic bag to protect it from the elements. Unfortunately, I met another person coming in at the same time I was, so I couldn't (wouldn't) leave it there. After taking care of business inside the bank, I noticed a bulletin board in the vestibule, and some spare push pins, so I pinned "The Girl with the Phony Name," by Charles Mathes, to the board and went on my merry way.

Wild Release #512

Now *this* is the book I should have had with me on Tuesday at the Post Office! Instead, it was destined to be released on top of the USAToday newspaper box on the sidewalk outside of Steak 'n Shake in Greensburg.

Wild Release #511

I went to the Post Office in downtown Greensburg today to send off a bookring, buy some stamps, and release "The Bridges of Madison County," by Robert James Waller, on the tall table by the doors in the post office box area. There were some men looking it over on my way out, but from the comments I overheard, I don't think it was their kind of book! If only I could have whipped out a manly-men book about guns or war or hunting. ;)

Wild Release #510

It seems like I am always leaving books in the same places with disappointing results. It's hard to remember the last time I have had a book caught and journalled! Since almost a full year has passed since I released the one and only book I released at PetSmart in Greensburg, I decided to reuse this release spot with a themed release. I left "A Little Yellow Dog," by Walter Mosley, on a display of really cute dog bowls at the back of the store.

Wild Release #509

I didn't mean to start any trouble, really, I didn't. I *like* Wendy's. I enjoy their food, their drive-thru window is always quick, they don't make mistakes on orders. Perhaps that's why I felt the tiniest twinge of guilt when I left "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal," by Eric Schlosser, on the brick ledge outside the front door of the Wendy's on Route 119 North in South Greensburg before I went in to enjoy lunch. Little did I know, I would be a witness to the controversy.

I was sitting at a table, enjoying my lunch and my current read, when two men walked in--one clutching the book I had just left. He took it up to the counter and told them, "Look what I found outside." He seemed to be very familiar with the staff, because they thought he was playing a practical joke on them, not believing that someone would leave a book--and that particular book--on the ledge outside the door. He insisted he had found it and even asked others in the restaurant to vouch for his veracity. After he handed it over to the woman who seemed to be in charge of the kitchen, she, in turn, handed it over to a suit who was sitting at a table covered with paperwork and relayed the preposterous story. He started flipping through the book, and seemed to be reading it when I left the restaurant. I can't decide if this is good or bad for the book's fate. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't end up in a dumpster behind the store.

Wild Release #508

I don't know where the dark circles under my eyes came from, but they need to go--or at least appear to disappear. To that end, I visited the Rite Aid Drug Store on East Pittsburgh Street in Greensburg to acquire the makeup tools to make those circles disappear. I also left Robin Cook's "Fatal Cure" on the payphone on the sidewalk outside.

Wild Release #507

Panera Bread's Creamy Tomato Soup with Asiago Cheese Croutons was calling to me all morning, so I made sure to go there for lunch. While there, I left "Platform," by Michel Houellebecq, safely zipped inside a plastic bag on the small platform above the sink in the ladies' room.

Wild Release #506

If you find yourself at the Eat 'n Park across from Westmoreland Mall, you may also find Sue Henry's "Termination Dust" in the free literature rack in the vestibule. Enjoy!

Wild Release #505

To celebrate the twelfth day of Christmas (and what seemed to be an interminable retail season) I released "Robin Finds Christmas," by Molly Brett, at the Eastgate Plaza Chick-fil-a in Greensburg. You can find it on the ledge outside the front door if someone else hasn't already.

Wild Release #504

Today I tackled the mall and its post-holiday sales in search of great bargains. On my way in, I left William Kotzwinkle's "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" on the island of gumball machines near Sears on the lower level. I hope E.T. will phone home soon.