Friday, April 27, 2012

Spreading the Love of Reading with World Book Night

Last January, I was reading a book blog (sorry, can't remember which one) and it mentioned something called World Book Night.  I'd never heard of it, but went to their website to read more.  It's a way to spread the love of reading, person to person.  They were looking for people to be givers - that would go out in their community on World Book Night - April 23rd - to give away books to people who were nonreaders. 

I decided to apply.  My community is a tiny rural community, filled mostly with farmers and retired folks, and I thought it would be nice to spread some reading joy.  The World Book Night site offered 30 different books to choose from, many of which I had read.  I chose the book Peace Like A River because I felt like it would appeal to the folks where I live. 
 I was so excited to be accepted into the program.  Then I had to figure out where to give them away.  On a Monday night.  You know what's open on a Monday night in the little town (and I do use the term town loosely)?  Two gas stations and a Subway.  I didn't want to give them away at a gas station, so I contacted the owners of the Subway, and they were happy to have me there.  They even said that next year, if they knew in advance, they'd put it on their marquis to advertise it.
When the first two people I offered books to (both of whom were perhaps what some might consider 'good old boys') rejected me, I thought it was going to be a rather long night!  But after that everyone I approached was excited to get a free book.  They couldn't believe they were free!  People kept asking how much they cost, and saying you just don't get things for free anymore.  A few mistakenly assumed I was the author.  One, a teacher, was thrilled to see someone out promoting reading.  Many were intrigued, when I explained briefly how the novel unfolds (it is a wonderful read).  And I felt good to be bringing the happiness of a good book to random people in my region.  I hope that they crack open Peace Like A River and don't put it down until they are done! 

If you are an avid reader who would like to spread the love of reading in your community, you might check out the website and apply next year! 

Disclaimer: I was not required to blog about this in exchange for being part of this program (and I did not receive anything for doing so) - I just wanted to share the information to help World Book Night get the information out for next year.  I think it's a wonderful thing that they are doing.

On a side note, a special thanks to those of you who entered The Tissue Box Challenge!  First place was Nouveau Soccer Mom and second place was Teach Beside Me.  Congrats!

41 comments:

andy said...

Great idea Lisa! !! You should feel very proud of yourself! Have a great weekend

Unknown said...

Lisa, This is awesome! What a wonderful way to get books into the hands of people who might not otherwise read.

Now I'll have to search that book out. : )

~Andrea

Jill said...

What a wonderful program! I'm so glad you were accepted and had such a good time.

Barbara said...

What a great idea!!! I'm glad people were receptive. Hopefully they will pass on the book to others when they are done reading it and spread the reading love even more.

Anonymous said...

This sounds like a great program! I hope they ended up reading their books too.

Karen thisoldhouse2.com said...

What a great idea!...

Chris said...

Brilliant of you to do that for your local comunity Lisa.

Did you sign any? ;-)

Unknown said...

That's really awesome, Lisa!

Nancy said...

Is there anything you can't do? Proud of you -- xoxo.

Ellie said...

Well done - what a great thing to do. You should feel proud of yourself.

Liz Mays said...

I think anything that promotes the love of reading is a beautiful thing!

Unknown said...

What a great way to get people to read! Our daughters school is doing a 'book exchange' on Tuesday which is super cool since a large percentage of the kids in school these days can not read or even their parents can not or will not read to them. Kids love getting a gift so a new or gentley used book exchange at the school was such a great way to help. We've been reading to our kids since they were in my belly so naturally they are book worms now :)

xo,
Allison
http://barretts1234.blogspot.com/

Gone Country said...

What a great idea! I love to read and find great pleasure in it. I hope that the people you gave the books to will find that enjoyment from reading also!

Unknown said...

Another great reason you're such a fantastic role model for the children! This will spread like the wispy seeds of the dandelion!

I Am Woody said...

What a wonderful thing! I have always loved to read but with our work sending us on the road like it does, lugging books around just wasn't really feasible. And since we didn't have a permanent address at each jobsite, I couldn't get a local library card. I was so ever thankful when I purchased my Kindle!

TexWisGirl said...

that's pretty awesome, but, yeah, i can only imagine some of the conversations you had to get into trying to give away books. :)

Slamdunk said...

I have not heard of this either Lisa. Good for you for tackling such a worthy venture.

Tracy said...

Lisa,
What a great idea! Reading is free :) but no one thinks of it as such...free AND takes us to worlds unknown--how fantastic is that!

Anonymous said...

My daughter has always taken her kids to the library and they are all avid readers or listeners when she reads to them. It's sooo important! Love this post, Lisa.

Anonymous said...

What a great idea--I never heard of this until earlier this week over at Three Dog Blog--cool of you to participate.

Anne Payne said...

I haven't heard of this. Sounds great! I will have to check into it since I am definitely an avid reader :) I do give a lot of books away on my book blog.

Reading is fundamental, and I understand from a friend of mine whose SIL is a college library director, that soon most books will be digital :( In fact, within 5 years, his library will no longer hold print volumes. Can you believe that?! That is so sad to me. There's nothing like holding a book in your hands!

Betty Manousos said...

i made my way to a blog that i really love!

what a brilliant idea, lisa!
i think you're really AWESOME!!

happy weekend!

Eat To Live said...

Oh Wow!! I am blogging buddies with a celebrity.

I bet this was a lot of fun for you to get out and meet people in your community

Sally said...

Good for you, sweetheart! We had something similar here several years ago where we'd leave a book at random places. I'm going to have to check that out again (if I can remember where I found that.)

Anything to encourage others to read, young, old or any age is a beautiful gift. :)

4kids1mom said...

Love this idea!! Did you buy all the books to give away?

4kids1mom said...

I'm going to check that book out. Always looking for new authors to read :)

Ginny Hartzler said...

You get involved in the coolest things! So how many books did you give away? In my son's church, they had a day when each person in the Sunday School had to go out and do helpful things. So our son and DIL went to the local grocery store and offered to carry bags out to the car and load them inside for older or ill people. They also would give each one a flower. I will tell you that most of the people were scared to death and very suspicious, thinking it was some kind of scam!! A sad commentary on our society, don't you think?

Valerie Boersma said...

I love this post Lisa! You are one of the coolest people I know-to volunteer to do this! I'm so proud of you!!!

It cracked me up when you said some people thought you were the author, too! You could have signed a few books I bet:)

I'm definitely going to read this book-if for no other reason that you love it so much!

Shell said...

What a cool thing to be able to do!

Myya said...

I love this! What a fantastic thing tho be a part of. I've never heard of this before. I definitely want to play along next year. I'll have to see if it's available in my area!

Sonya @ Under the Desert Sky said...

What a great idea to prompt people into reading more! I'm glad the Subway owners were so accommodating.

Jen said...

That is awesome, Lisa!!! I seriously can't imagine my life without reading, and I hope I can pass that love on to my kids.
Great job!!

Brimful Curiosities said...

So glad you posted about your experience. Sounds like such fan. I considered participating but in the end didn't apply because our Monday nights are insanely busy and I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep up my end of the bargain. Maybe next year?

camp and cottage living said...

I'd love to do this next year!

GardenOfDaisies said...

Wow, this sounds like a wonderful program. Good for you for signing up!! I don't know what I would do without books. I read all the time.
I recently saw a quote that said something along the lines of: Those who choose not to read are missing out on as much as someone who can't. It stunned me to think of it those terms, but it really is so true!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Lisa, That is awesome. What a great experience...

AND-I loved that photo of you.... AWESOME.
Hugs,
Betsy

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

Wow- that is a wonderful idea, and what a great way to spread the joy of reading!

Vision By Mila said...

that's so nice of you! I love reading, but I also have break periods when I don't touch any book (like now), until the reading wave hits me again.. and I got a kindle for Xmas, haven't yet decided if I prefer it over books.. well it's been untouched for couple of months now, that says it all..

Jeremi said...

what a great event!!

very nice pic of you too : )

Pepper said...

I'm a librarian, and I never knew about World Book Night...what a shame!

Thanks for posting this! We should definitely get involved in worthwhile causes.

Sandy said...

What a wonderful idea. My Dad instilled the love of reading in me at a very young age and I am so grateful for that.