How does it work?

This Book Travels is a real journal that moves from person to person. Sometimes it’s handed to a friend. Sometimes it’s left behind in a place where a stranger might find it. Its journey is shared, one small moment at a time.

Each Finder adds a short entry, logs their discovery online, and sends the book back out into the world. Over time, its story unfolds through both its physical pages and a growing digital map.

The project includes five journals, each with its own personality. That personality shapes how people interact with it. Some journals are curious or quiet. Others are bold or playful. What you write helps shape who the journal becomes.

It’s an open-ended experiment in creativity, exploration, and human connection. When you log your find online, the journal replies in its own voice. That message is shaped by its personality and the people and places it has encountered along the way.

Follow the journey

Five journals are currently traveling through the world, collecting small moments and stories as they go.
If you’d like to follow along as their journeys unfold, you can receive occasional updates or follow on Instagram.

What people are saying 

Like Flat Stanley, only now he’s keeping track of all the adventures he has and the people he meets.
— Dave, Chilliwack, BC

This is such a cool idea. In a time when everything is online and impersonal, getting to collaborate with strangers to create something special together is so unique!
Can’t wait to see where it goes.
— Amanda, Vancouver, BC

This book is a delight. It’s an invitation to play, to explore, to stop for a moment and be curious. It feels magical.
— Claire, Abbotsford, BC

This is fun. I hope it works. I’m looking forward to seeing the pages once they’re filled.
— Kelly, Chilliwack, BC

Holy cow, that This Book Travels project  is SO RAD!!! I love the meatspace + online mashup
— Vinnie, Abbotsford, BC

And then there are the stories that quietly shaped the idea…

The diary… It’s been writing back to her.
— Harry Potter, discovering the magic of the journal in The Chamber of Secrets

That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.
— John Keating, quoting Walt Whitman in Dead Poets Society

Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.
— Galadriel, reflecting on small acts in The Fellowship of the Ring

Adventure is what I seek!
— Toad, setting off with great confidence in The Wind in the Willows

The family of five journals

A family of five journals was released from Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada, in December 2025. Each was set free to follow its own path and inspire creativity, exploration, and connection as it moves from person to person.

Each journal has its own personality and way of seeing the world:

Ember (spirited, playful)
Brings color and warm joy.

Scout (curious, upbeat)
Notices small wonders.

Willow (gentle, reflective)
Holds quiet moments and soft thoughts.

Atlas (adventurous, bold)
Moves toward new places, direction, and change.

Luna (observant, calm)
Sees subtle detail and quiet presence.

If you found one of these five journals, you are now part of its unfolding story. What you add creates a small connection with those who came before you and those who will come after, as the journal continues its journey.

The journals write back

There is a small surprise waiting for anyone who finds a journal.

When you upload your photo or short note, the journal reads what you shared and sends a personal message in return. The reply is written by the journal itself, shaped by the places it has been and the people who have carried it.

It is not a chat. You do not need to ask it anything. It simply responds once, as a quiet reflection from a companion that has been traveling through many hands.

Your entry becomes part of the journal’s memory and may influence the messages it sends in the future as the journey continues.

If you want to experience it, just find one of the journals, find and upload a photo. Your journal will reply when it can.

From the Maker

What if a book could move from person to person, learning as it goes, quietly changing, and even writing back to the people it meets?

That curiosity is what led me to create this experiment.
A small family of journals, set loose to see what might happen when people are invited to make their mark, become part of the story, and pass it on. To belong to something in motion. To feel part of something bigger than themselves.

Maybe this is where you come in.

— Brent Purves, Maker, This Book Travels