This Is Getting Depressing Now!

I am so disappointed as another week has passed, and with a 2nd book now out there to go on a trip I have still not heard anything. Is it just bad luck or am I doing something fundamentally wrong when I unleash the books? The first book was left at Henley train station on a Friday morning at the start of the rush hour, and I was convinced at the time that would have been picked up and news of it would soon follow, but to date I haven't heard anything. So a week ago on a Friday afternoon I left another book in a Costa Coffee shop in the Oracle Shopping Centre in Reading. I must admit my confidence wasn't riding so high, but I was still hopeful. When I went back to the shop a few minutes after leaving it there were people sitting at the table where I had left it, and I now wonder whether they just gave it straight in to the staff. This is so disappointing as surely someone would have at least looked at the book and the writing with it explaining the idea? In fact on both occasions even if the book was picked up by someone indifferent to the idea and it was handed in, I would have hoped with my email address very visible someone would let me know they had it at least... I will probably go to the Costa shop to see if they still have it. It does look like I am going to have to give it one more try though, and I ask anyone reading this to give me some tips on the type of place and how I should go about presenting the book to give it a chance to begin a journey. The good news is the book has now sold 252 copies which is great news for the Beating Bowel Cancer charity.

2) A Second Copy Of The Book Starts Its Journey

Four weeks ago I left a book in Henley to begin what I hoped would be an eventful and interesting journey, but alas I've heard nothing and have had to accept that the chances of hearing anything now are pretty remote. So I decided to just go for it and unleash a second book on a trip, and "Beating Bowel Cancer" book number 251 had quite an eventful start to its journey... Having tried and looks like failed with Henley-on-Thames railway station it was time to decide on a new location, and so my home town of Reading seemed as good a place as any. Walking into town I was still unsure where to leave the book as where is the most likely place that someone will pick up the book and be willing to join in the adventure? So I settled on the main shopping street in the centre of town, and yes for me Reading is a town not a city but let's not go there :) Broad Street in the picture above on a Friday afternoon seemed to have enough going on for it to be a good place, so I sat on the seats centre photo for a few minutes and simply got up leaving the book where it was. I went off shopping for half an hour and decided to walk back past the spot to see if it was still there? My spirits sank as there it still was, so what to do? Maybe half an hour wasn't long enough, but being a little paranoid after the first book failure I decided to pick it up and try someone where else. It had not been a good start!

I took the book the The Oracle which is Reading's main shopping centre and had a wander around looking for somewhere to leave it. In the end I decided upon one of the nation's biggest coffer chains good old Costa as the next starting point. Quite a small branch but pretty busy being right in the heart of a popular shopping centre. So I sat down with an Iced Latte and spent a few minutes wondering if this was a good place, and then although still unsure I left it there. I walked off for 10 minutes and when I came back there were people sitting at where I had been sat. so one way or another I know that the book was picked up. I have no idea whether a member of staff picked it up cleaning the table, or if the people sitting had a look at it. Time will tell... I am now wondering if I did it right and if there is a better way of leaving it? Am I by leaving it out in the open reducing my chances of it being picked up by someone likely to take interest in the idea? I am perhaps going to have to think very carefully about my choice of location, and am even now wondering if somewhere like the library might have been a better place. Should I not leave it in the bag with a piece of literature about it and just leave the book as is with any literature inside it? Perhaps people would be more inclined to pick it up if it weren't inside the see-through bag? You can see how I am now plagued by doubts!

However as far as my second attempt goes the deed is done and I am really hoping that it might have fallen into the hands of someone interesting and willing to help send the book on a journey. We shall see and this is going to have to work sooner or later as its costing me a fortune buying my own book only to leave it for others to read! :) It's time to wait and see what happens next...

4 Weeks of Nothing

It is 4 weeks today since I left a copy of the book at Henley railway station. My hopes were it would begin a journey being passed through as many people as possible with the stories being documented on here. There is is still no sign of the book making an appearance and after 4 weeks it is not looking very promising. Of course there was always the possibility that the book would be thrown away, kept by someone or just plain vanished. I thought that leaving it on a seat on the platform early morning was a good location giving it every chance to begin an interesting journey.

So what next? I think if the book had been passed through a few pairs of hands making for a blog on here I would have probably been happy and left it there. I want this idea to work, so I am going unleash a second book on a journey. The question is where, and is there anything I could do the second time around around that I didn't do the first time? This is where I would appreciate any input from others :)

The fundraising book has now sold 250 copies, which has been a great achievement after less than 6 months on sale. I will keep pushing it on all fronts and hopefully "The Journey of a Book" has not finished and the second book trip succeeds where the first trip failed.

Silence Is Not So Golden

Just over 2 weeks into the book's journey and there has still been no sign of an appearance by it yet. Last week I went back to Henley station and asked the man behind the counter whether a book had been handed in? He told me that nothing had been handed in. So on the positive side someone has picked up the book and has taken it somewhere, but whether we ever learn where is another matter.

It is a little frustrating for me as I am itching to get some kind of news and pass it on, but for now I am just going to have to be patient and keep the faith that someone out there is planning to pass the book on along with an interesting story to tell about it.

Silence is not so golden when the news on the book is pretty much "nothing to report"

One Week Into The Journey

It was one week ago today that I left the Beating Bowel Cancer fundraising book I have self published on a seat at Henley Railway Station setting it off on hopefully an exciting journey. However there has been no news so far, and I haven't received any communication from anyone who has come into contact with the book. I thought that I had chosen a good time and place to leave the book, and with the commuting passengers passing through the station I was sure it would fall into interesting hands.Of course someone might be in possession of it, enjoying reading it and considering where to leave it next so maybe a week is a bit too soon to be panicking. But it is also possible that the book was discarded and has always ready been recycled into something insignificant such as toilet paper!

So what to do? I think I will sit tight a while longer and hope that my faith in the people of Henley is rewarded with the book resurfacing soon. If not then I think it is worth trying the exercise again, and in which case I will have to come up with a new departure point.

It is a bit disappointing having to update the blog with basically no news, but one way or another this is not the end of the story...

1) The Book Begins It's Journey At Henley Railway Station

 

It took me a few days to come up my starting point for the book's journey. I had to choose between waiting for the opportunity to leave it at a well known landmark or starting the journey somewhere closer to home. If I am honest my impatience meant I went with the latter. I also came to the conclusion that it didn't really matter too much where I left the book as long as I gave it a decent chance of being picked up by someone who might be interested to take part. A railway station was a fairly obvious choice with the amount of people passing through going to many different destinations. 

So why Henley? I live in Reading, the station of which has just undergone a major transformation, and is by far the busiest local transport hub so it was a serious contender. However I wanted to leave the book in the morning or evening rush hour and getting into the town centre to do this would not have been easy. So my commute from Reading to Medmenham where I work takes me through Henley-on-Thames every day. Not only that my mother was born there so there is a nice connection with starting the book off there as the whole book idea was inspired by mum's bowel cancer. Anyone who has already bought the book will have read about our family's Henley connection.

The date was April 12th 2013 and I got to the station at 7:15 in the morning and I wondered how I would be able to discreetly leave the book, and it had been some years since I had been to the station so I wasn't even sure if I would be able to get onto the platform without a ticket. As it was the station was empty and the next train was due for 25 minutes or so. I was able to pick a seat under shelter from the rain and at 7:18 I left the book to begin its trip. The branch line from Henley goes to Twyford where trains connect going to London and Reading, and from there who knows?? It is also possible of course that the book might be picked up by a passenger arriving at Henley and from there who knows where it could go?

So of course the book's journey and to a large degree this blog is now in the hands of others. It might turn out to be the shortest blog in history, but I am positive and have faith that there are people out there who will join in on the adventure.  I have absoluteley no idea what the next post will or indeed when that will be so please follow this blog to keep updated. Bon voyage "Beating Bowel Cancer"...

Setting Up The Book Journey

What happens to a book when it is left in a random public place to be set off on its own journey? This is the story of the journey of one book, and how that journey progresses or not as the case may be will be down to anyone who picks it up and then leaves it somewhere else for the journey to continue.

Clear as mud? :) The book will be left somewhere with details of what the book is about and how that person can take it with them and then leave it somewhere else that can be literally anywhere of their choosing  for another person to hopefully pick it up and do the same etc. Ideally the person will read the book, and perhaps spread the work about it or even be moved enough to buy their own copy of the book.

How will this blog work? The idea is people will email me once they have left the book somewhere else preferably with a photo showing where they are and I will then post all the stories up here. But of course there are no rules, they may decide to leave the book where it is for someone else to pick up, or they may decide to take the book home with them and it may never see the light of day again... Of course this could end up being the shortest blog in history if no-one picks the book up or it ends up in a bin! :)

What is the book about? In April 2012 the dreaded cancer word came into our family. One minute I was sitting with my mother expecting a normal discharge from hospital, and then in the blink of an eye our world was turned upside down when we were told that mum had bowel cancer. She had been having trouble going to the toilet and was to Wexham Park Hospital for an endoscopy, and it was at that point we learned she had bowel cancer. Her treatment involved radiotherapy and chemotherapy to shrink the tumour, before a successful operation to remove it was performed in September. She is making an excellent recovery, although she has had 2 further operations in 2013 to remove nodules from her lungs. 

The care and attention mum has received at Mount Vernon, Wexham Park and Harefield Hospitals has been first class, and it was while mum was undergoing treatment that I decided I wanted to do something to raise funds for a cancer charity and give something back. Unfortunately running a business on my own imposes restrictions as to what I could do, but the idea of writing a book seemed the perfect solution. I have been a keen amateur photographer for about a year and the idea I had was to write a book featuring photos on various subjects, ideas and technical approaches. "Beating Bowel Cancer" therefore is a charity book featuring a collection of photographs and the stories behind them to raise funds for the Beating Bowel Cancer charity. All proceeds will be donated to the charity. The plan is try and sell 1000 copies, and as at the start of April 2013 I have sold 173 copies so I have a long way to go! Absolutely every penny I earn is going to be donated to the charity. As the project has developed it has become obvious just how important it also is to raise awareness about bowel cancer too, and if the the book's journey can help with this then that would be a success on its own. 

So the first task is for me to set the book on its journey, and the next installment will reveal where the book has been left to begin that journey...

The idea and inspiration for this blog came from the wonderful 60 postcards blog, which I would recommend you having a look at here.