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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Books bound in boxes or shackled on shelves are finally free thanks to a wee bit of anarchic frivolity.

Anonymous book lovers in our community are surreptitiously releasing their favourite novels and non-fiction into the wild.

They're part of an international network of readers who get a kick out of leaving beloved books in buses, cafes, hotels, waiting rooms, parks and other prominent public places in hopes they'll attract new readers from among the fortunate folk who find them.

The practice is called Book Crossing. Here's how it works.

Visit the website www.bookcrossing.com and start your own free profile.

Take a book you love, perhaps The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery or Live Your Best Life by Oprah Winfrey, and record its information on the site.

Insert a note into your book that includes a tracking number and the web site address and release it into the universe. When someone finds your book they can open a free profile online, plug the tracking number into the website and inform you that they found your thoughtful gift.

More than 50 Yellowknife residents, ranging in age from 14 to 63, have profiles listed on the site.

Rowdy Fred found a copy of Bizarre Tales of WWII, which had been released by a reader from Calgary.

Ruby Reads once dropped a copy of To All Appearances A Lady by Marilyn Bowering at Javaroma.

Sky River Guy released Invitation to a Beheading by Vladimir Nabakov a while ago.

Prince Myshkin deposited a copy of And God Created Punk somewhere in town earlier this week.

Those who don't want to wait to find a good book by happenstance can gorge their literary appetite at this week's humongous book sale in the library.

The sale runs from tomorrow evening until Saturday.