I have a ton of books. Between us, my mom and I could probably open a nice little used book shop. (By the way, if you're looking for something good to read, Olivia Fierro has a few suggestions. I need to check them out.)

Any way, most of the books I have are not really keepers. Some of them are. The autographed ones, a few that were gifts. But for the most part, once read, a book only takes up space in my little 800-square-foot apartment. And I have a lot of "stuff," which means I really don't need a bunch of books I've already read stacked on every flat surface.

So, I hand titles off to friends, and every now and then, I load up a couple of boxes and head off to Savers or Goodwill.

Once they were out of my way, I never really wondered what became of those cast-off books, never considered the journeys they might be making. And then I found BookCrossing.com, a Web site that's looking to turn the world into one, big library. Free books for all! "Read and release," it says. And you can follow your books wherever they go.

You have to admit, it's a completely cool idea. Want to know how it works? I knew you would. Check out my latest Cat With Mouse column.

And if you have any story ideas for me -- things you'd like to see tested or explained -- drop me an e-mail.