They took about half of Mom's books, which was good. Unfortunately, they took very few of mine, because apparently they have a new policy - they won't take BookCrossing books. The reason is pretty straightforward, if somewhat disappointing - they won't take them because they can't remove the label.
That's actually a big bummer to me...and not just because that means they won't be taking any of my books in the future. I actually like getting books with a bit of history - that is, the name or bookplate of the previous owner still inside it. I think it makes the book much more interesting. Gives it a bit of a personality, if you will. One of the coolest books I own is an old L. Frank Baum title - one of his non-Oz books, The Enchanted Island of Yew which is an original printing. On one of the blank pages at the back of the book, a previous owner wrote her thoughts and reading record for the book. I think that's really awesome! (In fact, my fondness for such things is a major reason for why I'm so active on BookCrossing.)
So I guess I either need to stop putting Bookcrossing-related writing and labels in my books, or I need to find a new bookstore to trade in used books. Not that I need a local bookstore for trading books in, really - swapping sites have largely taken over that role, but it's always nice to have one.
