September Stats

Wild Releases: 36
Catches: 4
Wild Finds: 1

Year-to-date:
Wild Releases: 259
RABCKs: 121
Catches: 39
OBCZ Finds: 1
Bookrays: 1
Wild Finds: 1

Wild Release #762

If you go to The Pepperwood Grille in Greensburg, you may come home with "Second Helpings," by Megan McCafferty. Every time I have been there, their food has been delicious; you'll want a second helping!

Wild Release #761

I was feeling the BookCrossing love today, so I left Louis L'Amour's "Last of the Breed" in the glass-enclosed shelves of the information center in the parking lot of the upper lake around 1:35 p.m.

Wild Releases #753 - #760 & Wild Find #2!

I spent the day with my fabulous ex-coworker, her No. 1 Daughter, and No. 1 Niece in Baltimore, Maryland. Our primary goal was to visit The Book Thing, a wonderful warehouse full of thousands of absolutely positively free books; our secondary goal was to explore Baltimore's Inner Harbor a bit before heading home; my tertiary goal was to release books all along the way. My first release of the day was Arthur Golden's "Memoirs of a Geisha" at the Gateway Restaurant in Breezewood, Pa. My next releases were donated, along with several dozen unregistered books, to The Book Thing. The ones I left behind included "Violence and the Media," by Cynthia Carter; "Garnishing," by Francis T. Lynch;  "Western Civilization: A Brief History," by Jackson J. Spielvogel; and "Fabulous Napkin Folds," by Gay Merrill Gross. I was also lucky enough to find a BookCrossing book on the shelves of The Book Thing: "Empire of Heaven," by Linda Ching Sledge! Once we had our fill of The Book Thing, we headed to Inner Harbor to do a little exploring. I left "Coastliners," by Joanne Harris, on a bench at the Harbor East Water Taxi Landing; and Baltimore denizen Edgar Allan Poe's "The Gold-Bug and Other Tales"  on a bench at the Top of the World observation floor, overlooking his final resting place. Last, but not least, to be released was "Paint the Town Dead," by Nancy Bell at the New Stanton Travel Plaza on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Catch #101

New member magpie7 has checked in with "Eleven on Top" and already has plans to expand its horizons. She writes: "Found the book in the "give us your suggestions/comments" rack at Panera Bread in Greensburg PA on Saturday, September 19, 2009. Just started reading the book. Plan to finish it (which may take a bit of time since I am busy and also reading lots of other books); and, then, when I take a ride on the Potomac Eagle Train (in or near WV) on Oct 17th, I plan to release it down that way and see where it lands." Thanks, magpie7, and welcome to BookCrossing!

Wild Release #752

If you happen to be house hunting, stop by the Prudential Real Estate office on Old Route 30 in Greensburg. You may be lucky enough to find Danielle Steel's "The House" in the house-shaped box of real estate guides in the parking lot.

Wild Release #751

Soccer season is in full swing, so it seemed an appropriate time to release Mal Peet's "Keeper." I left it in a plastic bag hanging from the top of a soccer goal at Lynch Field. Scoooooooorrrrre!

Wild Release #750

The parklet on Pennsylvania Avenue in Greensburg was looking like a wishing garden this afternoon, especially after I put Christy Yorke's "Wishing Garden" under a tree. My wish? That's someone finds it and enjoys it.

Wild Release #749

I did a little grocery shopping at Aldi Foods in Greensburg today, and left Janet Evanovich's "Seven Up" with the lemon-lime soda inside the store.

Wild Releases #747 & #748

There was an awesome book sale in Indiana, Pa., today, and it was lovely weather for a drive, so I hopped in the car and off I went. After indulging my book-buying urge, I headed downtown to explore Jimmy Stewart's hometown. There are commemorative plaques all over Philadelphia Street noting where Jimmy Stewart's father's hardware store was, Jimmy's favorite restaurant, Jimmy's favorite water fountain, etc. Jimmy, himself—or rather a statue of him—stands outside the Indiana County Courthouse. I left "Watership Down," by Richard Adams, at the base of the statue.

Just down the street was the Indiana Free Library, where I left Jane Green's "Bookends" on the steps leading up to the front door.

Wild Release #746

I have only good things to say about my lunch at Panera Bread in Greensburg today, especially since I found a nice new release spot there for Janet Evanovich's "Eleven on Top": the comment cards rack on the wall in the vestibule.

Wild Release #745

If you are headed for the Golden Arches (a/k/a McDonald's) on Route 119 in Greensburg, keep an eye out for "Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Voodoo Vultures from Venus," by Dav Pilkey. I have it on good authority that it was left on a ledge in the vestibule earlier this evening.

Wild Release #744

It took about six seconds for me to leave Rick Mofina's "Six Seconds" on top of one of the gas pumps at Sunoco on Humphrey Road in Greensburg. Now, if only it would check in as quickly!

Wild Release #743

It was a lovely day to have lunch in the park, so I headed to Mount Odin. It was also a lovely day for a themed book release. I left the Here Come the Brownies book "Corrie's Secret Pal," by Jane O'Connor, in the window of the Girl Scouts playhouse.

Catch #100!

After releasing "The Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion" at the Star Trek exhibit at The Franklin Institute, Sister No. 1 introduced me to one of her high school classmates and his wife, who happened to be at the exhibit as well. We talked about BookCrossing, and he and his wife thought it was a fabulous idea (of course), so he picked up this book from the replica Klingon throne I left it on and promised to journal it. Thanks, williamso2, and welcome to BookCrossing!

Wild Releases #741 & #742

Our whirlwind road trip was over too soon. Sister No. 6 and I checked out of The Comfort Inn in King of Prussia, leaving "The Anastasia Syndrome," by Mary Higgins Clark, on a bench outside, and headed to Sister No. 1's house for a delicious breakfast of popovers and Nutella. We stopped at the Sideling Hill Travel Plaza on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, where they had a lovely little farmer's market, and I left "Perfect Poison," by Joyce and Jim Lavene, on a payphone inside.

Wild Releases #736 - #740

Sister No. 1, Sister No. 6, and I went to The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia this afternoon to boldly go through "Star Trek: The Exhibition." I loved seeing all the costumes, but I was disappointed that so many of the exhibits were replicas, rather than actual props used in the TV series and movies. I was also appalled at the number of people taking photos when there was supposed to be no photography. In fact, I think I was the only one that *wasn't* taking photos. I was not disappointed with my themed releases, which were: "The Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion," by Larry Nemecek; "The Starships of Star Trek," by Tony Tallarico; "Proud Helios," by Melissa Scott; "Encounter at Farpoint," by David Gerrold; and "War Drums," by John Vornholt.

Wild Releases #734 - #735

Road trip! Sister No. 6 and I are in Philadelphia visiting Sister No. 1, the Sanrio store, and "Star Trek: The Exhibition" at The Franklin Institute. We stopped at the Highspire Travel Plaza on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, where I left Andrew Klavan's "Dynamite Road" on a payphone before having a quick bite to eat (I do NOT recommend the pizza!). Our next stop was the Sanrio store at the King of Prussia mall where we indulged our Hello Kitty/Chococat/Kuromi urges. On our way out, I left "Sloppy Firsts," by Megan McCafferty, on a bench near the tea store and Sanrio.

Wild Release #733

Greensburg has no shortage of Chinese restaurants. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that there are more Chinese restaurants than any other nationality. One of the newest to open is China King, on Route 119 in Greensburg. If you go, you just may find "Mulan" on the ledge under the glowing neon sign in the window.

Wild Release #732

Janet Evanovich's "Two for the Dough" lends itself to two clever themed release opportunities: 1) a bank, or 2) a bakery. I chose the latter, leaving it outside Schaller's Bakery on Highland Avenue in Greensburg.

Wild Release #731

Baldy's Pizza on West Otterman Street in Greensburg has a long ledge that runs along the storefront windows that is the perfect size for a book. I left John Grisham's perfectly themed book, "Playing for Pizza," on said ledge for a pizza/book lover to find. Bon appetit!

Catch #99!

"Fat Tuesday" has made its way from Altoona to Indiana, Pa. An AnonymousFinder reports that it was dropped off at the Indiana Free Library where it will be put on their sale shelf. Thanks for checking in with the book, AF!

Wild Release #730

It seems the latest new business trend in Greensburg is doggy daycare. We have had at least two open in the last few months, so I decided to christen one of them with a wild release. I left "Once Bitten," by Laurien Berenson, on a window ledge outside the front door of See Spot Run at the intersection of Routes 119 and 30.

Catch #98!

"A Cannibal in Manhattan" found a new reader in Rowanrose from State College, Pa., who reports: "Weird story. Too silly to be serious, too sad to be humor." Thanks for the journal entry, Rowanrose! It's always great to hear from a book again.

Wild Release #729

My car was filthy, inside and out, so I headed to DeGennaro's Car Wash on Route 119 in South Greensburg. A quick trip through the automatic car wash made the outside grime vanish; three minutes with the do-it-yourself giant vacuum made the inside grime vanish. It only took a couple of seconds to make "The Vanished Man," by Jeffery Deaver, disappear when I left it with the DIY giant vacuum.

Wild Release #728

Mom and I went to see a very moving exhibit at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art this evening. Entitled "Resurrection," it featured larger-than-life portraits of ten men who were wrongfully convicted of various crimes and sentenced to death, but who were later cleared through DNA tests and the efforts of The Innocence Project. Artist Dan Bolick expertly captured each man's story of despair, exile, and hope on his canvases. I left another story—"Exile," by Blake Nelson—on a pillar near the entrance when we went in, and it was gone by the time we left.

Wild Release #727

I met an old friend for drinks and dinner at The Headkeeper on South Main Street in Greensburg. It was the perfect weather to spend the evening on the patio; the food was delicious and the company wasn't bad either. On my way in, I left "The Outcast of Redwall," by Brian Jacques, on the wall outside the patio. On my way out, it was gone.