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Pokemon Go but for Books Posted by on Sep 22, 2016 in Culture

In Belgium and the Netherlands, there are alternatives for book lovers looking for a Pokemon Go-like experience!

De Boekenjagers Photograph by runzwthscissors28 found on Flickr.com

Photograph by runzwthscissors28 found on Flickr.com

Aveline Gregoire, a teacher in Belgium, came up with the idea because she wanted to clean out his bookcase. Instead of selling the books, Aveline thought it would be a great idea to have a book-finding game inspired by the infamous Pokemon Go game that her children were playing. Aveline created a Facebook group with the title “Chasseurs de livres” and the idea kicked off.

This game works in the following way:  Books are usually placed inside a clear plastic bag to protect it from the rain. The book also has a note explaining that it is a free book that the hunter can have. Once he/she has finished reading it, the book should be “released to the wild” once again for someone else to find. In the Facebook group, people post photos of the books they have “released” so that other members can find them. There is also information about the Facebook group in the note so that captured books can be promoted as well. The note goes something like this:

Ik ben een achtergelaten boek…
Lees me…
En laat me weer elders vrij in de natuur…

Maak een foto van je gevonden boek en post het op de facebookpagina “De boekenjagers NL.”

Boeken jagen, geen Pokémons!

There are already groups in Flanders and in the Netherlands inspired by Aveline’s group. The Dutch group is called De Boekenjagers NL which translates to Book Hunters Netherlands.  The group has over 700 members and every day, there are new posts about books available for hunting.

To read more about De Boekenjagers, click here.

Which book would you leave for someone to find?


Related Vocabulary

het boek– the book
de jager- the hunter
jagen– to hunt
lezen– to read
achtergelaten– left behind
vinden– to find
gevonden– found

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About the Author: Karoly Molina

Since I was a little girl, I was fascinated with languages and writing. I speak English, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and a little bit of French. I am a writer, reader, language teacher, traveler, and a food lover! I now live in The Netherlands with my husband Riccardo, our cat Mona, and our dog Lisa, and the experience has been phenomenal. The Dutch culture is an exciting sometimes topsy-turvy world that I am happily exploring!


Comments:

  1. Jazzy Lemon:

    They have this where I live in England, and people usually sign the inside of the cover when they’ve read it and date it. I’ve found a couple of books, the first one about 10 years ago. The last book I left was The Virgin Suicides.

    • Karoly G Molina:

      @Jazzy Lemon Jazzy, I think this trading book idea is great! I have yet to find one myself, though. I will put the Virgin Suicides on my to-read list!

  2. Joseph T. Madawela:

    the book is Homers “Odyssey”