Keep eyes open for free books
Jann Malone/Richmond Times-Dispatch Columnist<br>
June 25, 2003

Where do you find books?

At libraries, of course.

At bookstores as well.

On the Internet, too.

When you're talking about Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried," all three answers are correct. You can find the book, Richmond's Go Read choice for this year, in the usual places.

But, starting tomorrow, you may want to look for the book in some unusual places. That's because Go Read volunteers will seed the community with 100 free copies of the book in rather unorthodox ways.

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't expect to put 50 cents into a newspaper box and get a morning paper and a free book. But you've got a shot at finding one of 15 copies of "The Things They Carried" that Hollie Statzer from The Times-Dispatch's circulation department will put in boxes in Richmond, Henrico, Hanover and Chesterfield before 6 a.m. tomorrow.

The Times-Dispatch is Go Read's media sponsor.

Some of the community books will go to specific places: Veterans Affairs facilities, government offices, retirement communities, doctors' offices and colleges. Three will go into prisons.

But most of the books will be distributed at random.

This is by design. The idea, the Go Read folks say, is to involve the community, encourage reading and, most important, get people talking about the book in advance of author O'Brien's visit to Richmond in November.

If you read the book now, you'll be ready for the community discussions and events that start, for the most part, after Labor Day.

The 100 books, which were donated by the staff of The Times-Dispatch from the proceeds from a book sale, are an experiment in community sharing.

Each book is numbered and carries a label that instructs the finder to "Read it, pass it on and log on to www.goreadrichmond.com to track the travels of this book"

At the Web site, you can tell where you found the book, what you thought of it and how you passed it on.

Inspiration for the find-it, pass-it-on idea came from another Web site, www.bookcrossing.com, which encourages readers to release their books into the wild and see what happens.

So where do you look for Go Read's random acts of book releasing? Beats me. I guess they know I'd tell you, so they're not giving me any specifics.

But, if you'll let me speak in generalities, here's what I know about where to look.

You might try community gathering spots, say, coffee shops, doughnut shops and neighborhood pools.

You might try places the community eats, say your favorite neighborhood restaurant or that ethnic spot you've been wanting to try. Hint: Much of the book takes place in Vietnam.

You might ride the bus to work.

You might go to an outdoor music event, say, the one that starts at noon tomorrow at the James Center.

Oops, that may have been too specific.

Oh well, too late.

Just keep your eyes open for the next few days.

Think of this as a book lovers' treasure hunt. Maybe you have to possess reader's karma to find a copy. Maybe it's just dumb luck.

If you're one of the lucky ones, and you see the book and want to read it, go ahead and take it.

Read it.

Pass it on.

I'm reading copy No. 16 now. It'll probably be a couple of weeks before I release it, but I will, in a place that feels right.

Sorry, I can't be more specific.

Just let me know when you find it.

Jann's column appears on Sundays and Wednesdays. Write her at P.O. Box 85333, Richmond, VA 23293; call (804) 649-6820; fax (804) 649-6836; e-mail jmalone@timesdispatch.com.