— By Alysa Landry —
FARMINGTON — More than two tons of books line the walls of Christina Branson's Farmington home.
The 37-year-old administrative assistant for the city of Aztec began reading at age 3 and hasn't stopped.
"I remember pulling the medical encyclopedia off the shelf when I was about 4," she said. "The phobias really interested me."
Following her precocious debut into the literary world, Branson settled on something a little less diagnostic — mysteries. She burrowed through the Encyclopedia Brown books at age 5, and went on to the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series. She was well acquainted with Agatha Christie by age 8.
The love of the written word only blossomed with time, and Branson is now part of a global craze that is half treasure hunt, half literary madness — a craze gaining popularity in the Four Corners.
Bookcrossing, a treasure hunt designed for readers, started from a single stack of books nearly seven years ago, and founders call it the world's biggest free book club.
Bookcrossing.com is the brainchild of co-founders Ron Hornbaker and Heather Meara-Pederson — two avid readers who noticed their books were gathering dust.
Inspired by the likes of Where's George and Photo Tag, Internet sites that, respectively, track $1 bills and disposable cameras, the founders built an online treasure hunt. The treasure, of course, is found inside the covers of the 4.6 million books registered on the site.
The book hunt is based on the theory that two things change a person's life — the people he meets and the books he reads, Meara-Pederson said. The site facilitates both objectives.
"Books aren't doing anybody any good up there on the shelf gathering dust," she said. "This is a generous and serendipitous game. You never know who is going to pick up the book or what it's going to do in their lives."
Books in circulation span genres from children's literature to science fiction novels, and from used textbooks to first-edition antiques. About 100 free books are lying around in coffee shops and store fronts in the state, and more than 2,200 New Mexico readers are participating in the hunt.
Branson joined the online community five years ago, and since then she's built a virtual library. From her dining room table surrounded by stacks of books, she logs on and has instant access to millions of books — and thousands of like-minded readers.
Every book Branson owns is registered on the site, she said. She regularly browses other users' libraries and requests to borrow their books, which are sent through the mail. Branson also lends her books to readers across the nation, but a few of her favorites don't leave the house.
"I have a lot of autographed books, so I hang on to those," she said. "I have a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo' that's so old it doesn't have a copyright in it, and a copy of Les Miserables' printed when the author was still alive."
Although these treasures stay at Branson's home, they provide fodder for conversations with other bookcrossers, via the online forums.
The site is a sort of book-lover's paradise, Branson said. She doesn't have cable television, choosing instead to spend much of her time with her nose in a book or discussing plots and characters with other readers.
"Reading gives me knowledge," she said. "I always learn something. Even in fiction books there's always a little tidbit of information I didn't know before. And when books are set in exotic places, I get to learn a little bit about it even when I don't have the money to go there."
Bookcrossing.com gains a following of about 300 readers every day, with membership topping 625,000, said Scott Sorochak, CEO of Bookcrossing. Half of the registered users are in the United States, but readers in more than 120 countries have participated. About 65 percent of users are women, and 75 percent are between the ages of 30 and 60.
As the Internet gains popularity, libraries are losing patrons, Sorochak said, but bookcrossers get the best of both worlds.
"Part of bookcrossing is getting back to the basics with reading," he said. "With the advent of the iPod and video games and the fact that you can do all your research for school papers online, libraries are becoming ghost towns. Bookcrossing brings it full circle."
As more people join bookcrossing, more books are beginning the journey around the world.
"There are many things to do with a book beyond reading it," Sorochak said. "It's what you do with the book after you read it that bridges the gap."
To find a book, log on to www.bookcrossing.com, and click the "go hunting" tab on the left. Books set free by other readers are listed by city. To release a book, register online and include a description of where the book is hidden.
Alysa Landry: alandry@daily-times.com