That's the catch-phrase that caught me when I went to check out what World Book Night is all about. Turns out it is an opportunity for book lovers to promote reading in their own communities. Here's the goal: on 1 night, April 23, 2012, all across the country, 50,000 volunteers will give out 1,000,000 free books. They want volunteers - "givers" - to choose a book they have already read and loved from the 30 available and to share that book with 20 strangers who are light readers or non-readers. And when you apply to be a volunteer, you can tell them where you want to give the books away, to whom, and why.
Want to participate in this million book giveaway to promote reading? Be a volunteer book giver on World Book Night, April 23, 2012. Sign up at www.worldbooknight.org by Feb. 1.
I hope I can give out A Prayer for Owen Meany - one of my favorite novels of all time. When I first read it, I understood that reading was so much more than just a school requirement. Reading that book was a soaring pleasure and an escape to a whole new world. I'd love to share that treasure with someone who has yet to discover the joys of reading.
Which book would you want to give, and why?
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
- Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
- Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger
- Kindred by Octavia Butler
- Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
- Little Bee by Chris Cleave
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
- Blood Work by Michael Connelly
- The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
- Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
- Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
- Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
- A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
- Q is for Quarry by Sue Grafton
- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
- A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
- The Stand by Stephen King
- The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
- The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
- The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
- The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
- Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
- My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
- Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
- Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
- Just Kids by Patti Smith
- The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
