Do you wish you had the time/motivation/ money to own and read more books, but in reality read rarely or not at all?
As you may know I am passionate about books. I wrote about how that came about in 10 Books I have Loved
I know that I turn to books for many reasons - for help with parenting, for more information on blogging, for preparing my kids for changes in their lives: from potty training to choosing college, from moving house to the loss of their grandfather and for inspiration.
But mostly I turn to books for pleasure: for the stories and people they introduce me to and the delight and comfort books bring to others. Whether it has been snuggling up with my sons when they were younger, to read a goodnight story or to relax at the end of the day or on vacation.
Books are my go to place for delight and support.
Books have opened up lives, countries, periods of history and fantasy to me that I would otherwise never have experienced. I love being so deeply caught up in a story, that I am oblivious to anything around me, I cannot put it down and I don't want it to end.
So when I read about World Book Night I applied to be a WBN giver immediately. I am so excited to have this opportunity and I want to share it with YOU!
WHAT IS WORLD BOOK NIGHT? ( Taken from the WBN site)
World Book Night is an annual celebration dedicated to spreading the love of reading, person to person. Each year on April 23, tens of thousands of people go out into their communities and give half a million free World Book Night paperbacks to light and non- readers. In 2013, World Book Night will be celebrated in the U.S., the UK, and Ireland.
World Book Night is about giving books and encouraging reading in those who don’t regularly do so. But it is also about more than that: It’s about people, communities and connections, about reaching out to others and touching lives in the simplest of ways— through the sharing of stories.
World Book Night is a nonprofit organization. We exist because of the support of thousands of book givers, booksellers, librarians, and financial supporters who believe in our mission.
Set for April 23 each year to honor Shakespeare’s birthday, World Book Night was successfully launched in the U.K. in 2011, and World Book Night was first celebrated in the U.S. in 2012. Thank you to our U.K. friends for such a wonderful idea!
World Book Night is about giving books and encouraging reading in those who don’t regularly do so. But it is also about more than that: It’s about people, communities and connections, about reaching out to others and touching lives in the simplest of ways— through the sharing of stories.
World Book Night is a nonprofit organization. We exist because of the support of thousands of book givers, booksellers, librarians, and financial supporters who believe in our mission.
Set for April 23 each year to honor Shakespeare’s birthday, World Book Night was successfully launched in the U.K. in 2011, and World Book Night was first celebrated in the U.S. in 2012. Thank you to our U.K. friends for such a wonderful idea!
Three friends and I are WBN givers and together we have 80 brand new paperback books to give away.
YES! 80. (The descriptions of the 4 titles we have to give away, are below.)*
As World Book night givers we are charged with the luxury and honor of giving away these books to "light "or non- readers. To share our passion for books and readers, to build community and open up an opportunity to immerse others in the wonderful world of fiction.
AND HERE'S WHERE THE COMPETITION COMES IN
We need YOUR help.
We want to garner as many ideas as possible for suggestions of places/ people we should visit to hand out these books and to go to places to give them to people who would enjoy receiving them.
THE PRIZE: If your idea is a winner: You get to own one of the books or give it away to someone you think would enjoy reading it, but would not have normally had the opportunity.
Perhaps it's for someone who works for you, or someone in your place of work?
Perhaps it's someone you know in your neighborhood, someone seriously ill or struggling in some way who would love to escape into a book for a bit.
There will be 4 winners. I will mail a book anywhere in the USA at my expense. (I am sorry I do not have the ability to mail outside of the USA at this time. However if you win you can nominate someone in the USA to receive it in your honor.)
If you have a great idea but don't want a book, I would still love to hear from you and again you can nominate someone else to receive it on your behalf.
HOW TO ENTER:
1. In order to enter you must be subscribed to this blog. You can subscribe by email right at the top RHS of this post, where it says follow by email.
(Your email will never be used for any reason apart from receiving my blog and communicating with me. Please follow the instructions and remember to VERIFY your email to activate it.)
2. Send an email to gilly@bringingbooksofcomfort.org with
- WBN in the subject line,
- Your full name and the answers to:
a)Who and where we should hand out these 80 books in our communities
OR
b) Why you would love to own one of them yourself.
AND 3. If your idea is a winner, which book/s would you choose to receive or gift to someone else? The 4 choices are below. *( If you win you will receive ONE of your choices)
The deadline for entering is Friday April 26th at 5.00pm ET
If you want to be a WBN book giver next year and you live in the UK,USA or Germany you can find more details on their website. They are looking to expand the project. Perhaps you can help bring it to your country if it does not exist already!
You can go to WBN site at World Book Night U.S.
Spreading the love of reading, person to person.
www.WorldBookNight.org
You may be a winner.
GOOD LUCK and thank YOU for taking part in spreading the love of reading and bringing books to others.
I'd love to have your ideas and feedback. Please leave me a comment below and share this post on Facebook to share your love of reading!
I look forward to reading your great ideas and hearing from you.
Have a wonderful literary week.
Gilly
WHY IS WORLD BOOK NIGHT IMPORTANT? ( Taken from the WBN site)
Why does World Book Night exist? Reading for pleasure improves literacy, actively engaging emerging readers in their desire to read. Reading changes lives, improves employability, social interaction, enfranchisement, and can have a positive effect on mental health and happiness. Book readers of all ages are more likely to participate in positive activities such as volunteering, attending cultural events, and even physical exercise.
Or more simply put, books are fun—and they can be life-changing.
Why does World Book Night exist? Reading for pleasure improves literacy, actively engaging emerging readers in their desire to read. Reading changes lives, improves employability, social interaction, enfranchisement, and can have a positive effect on mental health and happiness. Book readers of all ages are more likely to participate in positive activities such as volunteering, attending cultural events, and even physical exercise.
Or more simply put, books are fun—and they can be life-changing.
World Book Night U.S.
Spreading the love of reading, person to person. www.WorldBookNight.org
*Here are the 4 book descriptions via WBN. (We have 20 copies of each book) We will give some books out on the night of April 23rd and others after the competition is over, based on the winning suggestions.
THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS, VANESSA DIFFENBAUGH
Spreading the love of reading, person to person. www.WorldBookNight.org
*Here are the 4 book descriptions via WBN. (We have 20 copies of each book) We will give some books out on the night of April 23rd and others after the competition is over, based on the winning suggestions.
THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS, VANESSA DIFFENBAUGH
The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for
devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it’s been more
useful in communicating mistrust and solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster-care
system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through
flowers and their meanings. Now eighteen and emancipated from the system with nowhere to
go, Victoria realizes she has a gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them.
But an unexpected encounter with a mysterious stranger has her questioning what’s been
missing in her life. And when she’s forced to confront a painful secret from her past, she must
decide whether it’s worth risking everything for a second chance at happiness.
The men and women of each family relate their versions of events and we are drawn into their
lives as they become players in a tragedy on the grandest scale. As Kingsolver says of Hillary
Jordan, "Her characters walked straight out of 1940s Mississippi and into the part of my brain
where sympathy and anger and love reside, leaving my heart racing. They are with me still."
MUDBOUND, HILLARY JORDAN
Winner of the Bellwether Prize for Fiction.
In Jordan's prize-winning debut, prejudice takes many forms, both subtle and brutal.
It is 1946, and city-bred Laura McAllan is trying to raise her children on her husband's Mississippi Delta farm—a place she finds foreign and frightening. In the midst of the family's struggles, two young men return from the war to work the land. Jamie McAllan, Laura's brother-in-law, is everything her husband is not—charming, handsome, and haunted by his memories of combat. Ronsel Jackson, eldest son of the black sharecroppers who live on the McAllan farm, has come home with the shine of a war hero. But no matter his bravery in defense of his country, he is still considered less than a man in the Jim Crow South. It is the unlikely friendship of these brothers-in-arms that drives this powerful novel to its inexorable conclusion.
Winner of the Bellwether Prize for Fiction.
In Jordan's prize-winning debut, prejudice takes many forms, both subtle and brutal.
It is 1946, and city-bred Laura McAllan is trying to raise her children on her husband's Mississippi Delta farm—a place she finds foreign and frightening. In the midst of the family's struggles, two young men return from the war to work the land. Jamie McAllan, Laura's brother-in-law, is everything her husband is not—charming, handsome, and haunted by his memories of combat. Ronsel Jackson, eldest son of the black sharecroppers who live on the McAllan farm, has come home with the shine of a war hero. But no matter his bravery in defense of his country, he is still considered less than a man in the Jim Crow South. It is the unlikely friendship of these brothers-in-arms that drives this powerful novel to its inexorable conclusion.
LOOK AGAIN, LISA SCOTTOLINE
When reporter Ellen Gleeson gets a “Have You Seen This Child?” flyer in the mail, she almost throws it away. But something about it makes her look again, and her heart stops—the child in the photo is identical to her adopted son, Will.
Her every instinct tells her to deny the similarity between the boys, because she knows her adoption was lawful. But she’s a journalist and won’t be able to stop thinking about the photo until she figures out the truth. And she can’t shake the question: If Will rightfully belongs to someone else, should she keep him or give him up? She investigates, uncovering clues no one was meant to discover, and when she digs too deep, she risks losing her own life—and that of the son she loves.
This page-turner about a mother’s love for her son is a rich and nuanced thriller.
THE HANDMAID’S TALE, MARGARET ATWOOD
In the world of the near future, who will control women's bodies?
Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are only valued if their ovaries are viable.
Offred can remember the days before, when she lived and made love with her husband Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now....
Funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing, The Handmaid's Tale is at once a scathing satire, dire warning, and tour de force for the mature and adventurous reader.
All pictures via Book Browse Books Facebook page.
When reporter Ellen Gleeson gets a “Have You Seen This Child?” flyer in the mail, she almost throws it away. But something about it makes her look again, and her heart stops—the child in the photo is identical to her adopted son, Will.
Her every instinct tells her to deny the similarity between the boys, because she knows her adoption was lawful. But she’s a journalist and won’t be able to stop thinking about the photo until she figures out the truth. And she can’t shake the question: If Will rightfully belongs to someone else, should she keep him or give him up? She investigates, uncovering clues no one was meant to discover, and when she digs too deep, she risks losing her own life—and that of the son she loves.
This page-turner about a mother’s love for her son is a rich and nuanced thriller.
THE HANDMAID’S TALE, MARGARET ATWOOD
In the world of the near future, who will control women's bodies?
Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are only valued if their ovaries are viable.
Offred can remember the days before, when she lived and made love with her husband Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now....
Funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing, The Handmaid's Tale is at once a scathing satire, dire warning, and tour de force for the mature and adventurous reader.
All pictures via Book Browse Books Facebook page.
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Thank you!
Please email me at gilly@bringingbooksofcomfort.org or leave a comment on this post below. I'd love to have your feedback.
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What a great idea. I would love to donate a couple of my books to something like this. Is there a minimum donation amount.
ReplyDeleteI am also passionate about books. That is why I started my own list for Indie Authors who are running sales or freebies, on a page of my site. Its a great way to get books for free or on the inexpensive side.
Hi Corey -WBN gave away half a million books of only 30 titles so the quantities of each book they are dealing with, are huge.You can go to their site and see how they "choose" or accept books for next year.
DeleteGilly
How wonderful is this!? Has to be one of the best contests I've seen - ever! Thanks for introducing me to World Book Night too! Going to be on top of it and get involved next year.
ReplyDeleteHi Alli -Thanks for your feedback about the competition idea.
DeleteYou can like WBN's Facebook page and then you will get details when they are released for next year. I had a wonderful time giving books away and will post pictures next week. It felt wonderful to be able to give and I can't wait to do it again.
GIlly