Monday, April 23, 2012

Ramey reads The Book Thief the day before World Book Night

I'm hoping that Ramey the Chow will help me find homes for these special copies of Marcus Zusak's The Book Thief.

Come celebrate the first World Book Night America!


Today is going to be amazing!  There will be people giving out some of their favorite books all over the USA (and the UK and Germany).  I'll be in the South End this afternoon and at the Back Bay/South End station looking for people that look like non-readers and light readers to offer them a special copy of The Book Thief.

If you love reading and want to show your support, like World Book Night America on Facebook, change your Facebook status to name your favorite book (this had me stymied and I'm still trying to figure out my absolute favorite book), maybe talk to a librarian or bookseller and get a recommendation for something new to read. Perhaps even buy a book or two. : )

Here's an excerpt from today's Shelf Awareness  - the quote of the day comes from Judy Blume on how to get kids to read a book:

"First, invest in one with a new cover. Even if you like the old, original covers. Second, don't give it to them. Just leave the books strategically placed around the house and then occasionally say: 'Oh no, you're not reading that - you're not ready for that yet.'"
 -Judy Blume, speaking at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books


How do you want to celebrate World Book Night?

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Celebrate World Book Night


Hard to believe that World Book Night is just a few hours away! On April 23, 2012 twenty thousand volunteers will each give away 20 books - one million free books just in the US.the UK and Germany will join in the celebration with another million books each.

The main goal is to encourage light and non-readers to fall in love with books and the adventure of reading. With tv, video games, sports, and the many other activities that compete for our scarce leisure time, not everyone chooses to pick up a book to relax.  To celebrate World Book Night, publishers and authors and the dedicated organizers of World Book Night have decided to celebrate World Book Day (also Shakespeare's and Cervantes' birthdays) by carefully picking out 30 books that they believe in and want to share.  Books that will draw people in and give them an adventure and leave them with the incomparable satisfaction and delight that a good book delivers.

Both R and I applied to volunteer as book givers and tomorrow we will both share 20 copies of Marcus Zusak's The Book Thief.
I had planned to give out these books in Brooklyn, NY but my plans changed.  I'm in Gloucester, MA with visiting family and I have to be in Boston on the 23rd.  I've been thinking of the different places to give away these books, how to find non-readers and what would be the best way to approach them, offer them the book, and leave them with a bit of the excitement to read it. How do you match the person to the book? I am hoping that 20 people will fall in love with the book, will want to share it with their friends, will look for another book to give them another amazing adventure.

Are you celebrating World Book Night? Where would you hand out copies of books that you love?