East London Is A Vampire

East London pubs aren't just famous for their fine ales, good sausage and mash, and the occasional Friday night disco. From Spitalfields to Stepney, and all that lies in between, there is a strong blend of history and tradition. From Jack The Ripper to the Kray Brothers, to tales of epic karaoke and late night lock-ins.

This week, however, there was a literal presence that opened a chain of new doors for the Vintage Classics book crossing. The planting of various Crime, Monsters and Fear titles whipped up some late summer pub reading.

Copies of Ripleys Game, Frankenstein, The Bloody Chamber and Sexing the Cherry were left unattended for potential readers to find, and the texts have flooded in over the weekend with people eager to get the twin to the book they found and get their reading eyes into action.

There is now loads of Vintage book crossing books out there, doing the rounds, being read, passed on, and left again for others to find. Many books are now reaching their third set of hands as they make their merry way about the UK.

Please be sure to keep dropping by the blog and let us know about your book finds and book plantings so we can share the travels of these classic stories with the rest of the world.

Sunshine, pebbles and pages with words

Judging from the quantity of texts on our Book Crossing phone this morning, it appears that loads of people got involved in some top shelf book planting over the bank holiday weekend.

It was refreshing to hear that these books weren't found in the usual carriages of long distance trains or airport departure lounges. Instead, it was the sun burnt beaches of Brighton, Poole and Seaton that copies of Atonement, Inferno and Oliver Twist were deliberately left unattended. So, as beach dwellers became book finders, book planters became the new pioneers of this project.

Kelly from Brighton, who pitched her towel next to a copy of Dante Alighieri's Inferno dropped by the blog yesterday to tell us about her find.

"I live in the heart of Brighton, but to be honest, I don't usually spend much time on the beach. However, it was so hot here on Sunday that me and my flatmate took a bottle of wine down to a busy spot near the pier to get some rays and enjoy a few hours of sunshine. When the people next to us left just a few minutes after we arrived, I noticed that they had left a book behind. When I saw the little yellow sticker on the cover saying 'please read me' - I couldn't help myself tucking in to the pages of Inferno. What a cool idea! I am only a few chapters into it but will be sure to return the favour when I finish it and leave it somewhere for another Brightonite to discover."

Doors Closing.. Please Stand Clear

Very early this morning a fleet of Vintage Classics set off on the next leg of the book planting process. This time it was the tubes.

Wimbledon, Uxbridge, Morden, High Barnet, Upminster, Cockfosters and Richmond all bear the title of 'end of the line' and every day thousands of commuters board their carriage for the lengthy journey to work.

Today these trips would've been different for many of those people, because book crossing copies of Atonement, Trainspotting, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Possession and The Wind-up Bird Chronicle were left on seats for commuters to find and read - setting alive a whole new string of these Vintage Classics literature lifetimes.

If you were fortunate enough to find one of these classics sitting next to you this morning we want to hear from you. How many stations do you ride the tube for each morning? What do you usually do to pass the time? Have many pages did you read today?

Also, we now have our very own Flickr page with loads of photos from all our other London-wide themed installations on there. If you're in the mood for bookmarks in high places then trot on over to www.flickr.com/photos/vintageclassics and have a look.

Sydney, Singapore and The Rachel Papers

The tactical planting of these traveling books has hit new heights this week. A chap by the name of 'Jimmy' from Dalston has dropped by the blog and left us a message about a copy of Tom Jones by Henry Fielding that he has been in his possession for the last 3 days.

"Hi, I was on a flight on my way back from a holiday in Sydney, Australia earlier this week and found a book from your Book Crossing Project sat on the seat next to me on the plane. I didn't notice it until about 2 hours into the flight as I thought that it was someone else's. All of a sudden the painful 27 hour flight was made a bit easier for me. I managed to finish the book by the time we stopped off in Singapore Airport to change planes, so I left it in the rooftop bar they have in the main hall. There were hundreds of people waiting around for flights at the time so I am sure it ended up in safe hands. Oh.. and the twin book, The Rachel Papers arrived in my letterbox today too!"

Looks like it has all gone a bit international now. How did that book make it to Sydney? Was it you? Who found it in Singapore? Where is it now? Tell us your story and let's put these unfinished pieces together...

From The Postroom...

We have received loads of comments over the last week from book finders and planters all over the UK involved in the Book Crossing Project. Here are what some people have had to say:

Hi, I found a copy of Phillip Roth's Sabbaths Theater on the table in a bar at a Leeds train station before I went on a holiday to Dorset. I am over half way through it already thanks to the really long train journey. I look forward to receiving the twin to this book in the post. When I finish reading this one I am going to leave it in the reception of the office I work in because there is always people sitting there.

Craig, Leeds

Sexing The Cherry is one of the best books I have ever read. I was really suprised when it was sitting opposite me on the train on my commute to London this morning. Now I have begun reading it again and can't wait to get a copy of Frankenstein in the mail to read once I finish this one again. Not sure where I am going to replant it but I will think of somewhere special by the time I finish reading it.

Freya, Birmingham

What a great project! I have already finished reading the copy of Tom Jones I found last week and left it safely on the 205 bus from Mile End to Paddington for someone else to find. I got a new copy of The Rachel Papers in the post today and plan to have a lusty weekend inside reading thanks to you.

Danielle, Aldgate

I found a copy of Oliver Twist in a Cafe in the Trafford Centre in Manchester on Monday. I am going to let my young son read it for the first time before I re-release it into the 'wild'. I think everyone needs to read this book as a child.

Alex, Manchester

Books that change the world..

As loads of Vintage Classics make their way across the UK via early morning trains and buses, our book crossing hotline has been ringing non stop with sightings and discoveries of nomadic classic literature.

We have had someone find a copy of Crime And Punishment in Leeds and another person find Atomised on a train to Bournemouth. A crisp new copy of Alice in Wonderland turned up on a bus in Surrey Quays, whilst Gullivers Travels unexpectedly accompanied a young gentleman on his train trip to Manchester.

Then this afternoon, we got a call from a young lady in Sheffield who stumbled upon a copy of George Elliot's Middlemarch on a table at her local cafe. It was only minutes before we had it's Vintage Love twin, Possession by A.S Byatt in the post to her so that she had something to read once she had finished her time with Middlemarch and set it free again.

It is now time to raise the stakes in this project. If you have found a book out there then start thinking about its future from the moment you start reading it. Where are you going to plant it so that it will find a good home when you are finished? An international airport departure lounge? A doctors waiting room? Be imaginative and think of the long term experience that these classic novels are destined for.

ALL STATIONS TO EXETER

Today saw the first batch of the books carefully released into the wild as part of the Vintage Classics book crossing project. Setting off on trains from London heading towards Exeter and Edinburgh, various titles from the twin sets were placed on seats of carriages for unsuspecting passengers to find.

It was Alex Bland from Winchester who first let us know she had come across a book from the series. After boarding the train at Waterloo station, on her way to Newquay, she found herself sitting next to a lonely copy of Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting crying out to be read.

After texting the number on the inside cover, we soon had a fresh copy of Oliver Twist in the post for her to read once she finished the Trainspotting. After all, what is one classic novel experience without its modern counterpart?

Before we even contacted Alex, she had already hatched a plan on how to re release Trainspotting back into the real world book crossing cycle. With a holiday to France approaching, she is planning on leaving her copy on the ferry for someone else to stumble upon.

If all goes to plan, then this specific copy of Trainspotting will eventually see the sights of the world and be held by the hands of hundreds. And why shouldn't it? This is an important time for books and their journey.