Saint Augustine said "The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." This likely means that books are a great ocean that stretches out endlessly in front of travelers.

As the quote suggests, books makes us feel as if we are traveling. Did you know, by the way, that books themselves also travel around the world these days? The days of books being considered second-hand or being discarded after people finish reading them are now a thing of the past. There is a new movement spreading to reuse books by releasing them to the world to create new encounters and inspiration.

This activity of "making books travel" is called "BookCrossing," in which roughly 730,000 people participate in more than 130 countries around the world. The first step is to register the books that you have finished reading or that you no longer need on the Internet and hand them to somebody else or leave them in a café or on a bench.

Somebody who receives a book can track the book's traveling records on the website by the BCID (BookCrossing ID) number that can be found on the label attached by the person who "released" it. The website also allows people to report on the current location of a book or to write a comment about a book after reading it. Whoever reads the book can then leave it somewhere else. More than 5.2 million books (as of December 2008) are traveling around the world, instead of being abandoned on shelves after being read. BookCrossing was originally started by Mr. Ron Hornbaker and his wife Kaori in the United States. The couple came up with the idea after hearing about the story of the "traveling disposable camera," in which people who picked up the camera took photos with it.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is also known to participate in the program and a Japanese site was opened in 2007. A book that was released in the U.K. reached Tokyo via Korea after three years and books released in Japan are taken overseas by travelers. The program's activities are not limited to any one particular country.           

Anybody can participate in BookCrossing free of charge. Initially, you have to register as a member on the BookCrossing site, but the rest is simple. You register a book by providing information about the title and the author, together with a comment or evaluation of the book. The book is ready to travel as soon as you affix the special label with the BCID number issued at registration.

You may directly hand the book to an acquaintance or a friend or you may simply leave the book somewhere. It is also possible to leave the book in a BookCrossing zone, where registered books gather. Anybody, including individuals and companies, can set up a BookCrossing zone in a shop, office or public facility. Once registered as an official BookCrossing zone, zones not only function as way stations for books waiting to travel to new destinations, but they also offer opportunities for people to meet and interact with one another. Zones are most often set up in a corner of a café or a bar and there is even a Starbucks with a BookCrossing zone in the U.S., the home of BookCrossing. BookCrossing meetings to exchange books are also being held, offering opportunities for books and people to interact.

"People encounter traveling books unexpectedly in unexpected places and enjoy books that they would not have been able to enjoy otherwise," said Ms. Fujioka, who is in charge of public relations at BookCrossing Japan. She says one of the main pleasures of BookCrossing is people connecting with each other by reporting on where a book was found and writing about it on the Internet.

Finished and unwanted books offer new worlds, thrills and joy to people by chance. They often result in wonderful meetings and connections between people. Is there any better form of recycling?