Entertainment For Lively Minds
World Book Night
Posted by Mr Sparks on 6 March 2011 - 1:22pm.
Did any of the massive participate in World Book Night, either as a giver or receiver of the million free books that were handed out? If so, what did you give or receive? Where were you and how did it happen?
For my part, I was at a pub gig - the Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican if you must know! - at Stanton-in-the-Peak. The pub is called the Flying Childers.
At the end of the evening, a book was still lying on a table - no one had taken it, so my wife picked it up. It's 'Stuart - a life backwards' by Alexander Masters, which is a biography of a homeless man. I'm looking forward to reading it. When we're done with it, we'll pass it on.
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yes
Interestingly that novel was the only one left at the Central library in Newcastle last night . I then went to the Shed in Gateshead where I took Love in the time of cholera . Both events seemed to go well .
really?
"Interestingly that novel was the only one left at the Central library in Newcastle last night"
Not much of a library.
I re-read
Flann O'Brien's "The Hard Life" yesterday in the company of most of a case of stout, a packet of camels and the new Elbow and Lucinda Williams albums. A good day. Will that do?
You'll probably enjoy "Stuart ..."
I thought it was a great book, and as an added bonus it does that thing that people always say books do (even though they more frequently don't), namely take you into someone else's life and mindset.
Disaster in West Kilbride
My friends in West Kilbride had a semi-disastrous World Book Night. The free books never arrived..
Shhh, don't tell but ...
last night, I was ordering a Kindle. Does this make me treacherous or is it just supporting the future of reading?
As for the real thing (and I do intend to keep reading paper books) I'm hoping that one of my friends hasn't managed to give away all his copies of "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" yet, in which case I'm expecting a copy to be waiting at the station tomorrow morning.
I am a giver.
After reading a recommendation on here from the massive last year I read 'OneDay' by David Nicholls. I thoroughly enjoyed it and when World book night came up I applied to be a giver. I'm in the process of giving away my books (yes if you message me I may have a couple left!). Of all the books (I haven't read about them all yet) on initial look I selected 'The Curious incident of the dog in the night time' as my second choice. I haven't read it yet but would like to and will.
I'm trying to give my books to people who don't read very often as that seems to be in the spirit of it all I think.
So thanks again to the Massive for pointing me in the right direction again.
Slightly oddly for book night
I took my eldest (4) to a lovely acoustic gig at Sheffield Waterstones (Nat Johnson and the Figureheads) - so she's more impressed with the CD we got than any book.
But I got a copy of David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas. The only thing I know about it is that it's not that David Mitchell.
You'll enjoy it!
One of the most inventive books I've ever read.
For a terribly wriiten review
of a good book look no further than my mangled musings on it at the most recent Blogger Takeover thread.
I was very interested to receive
a copy of Carol Anne Duffy's 'The World's Wife'. Had I been a giver my choice would have been Cloud Atlas.
Yes, I'm a giver!
busy handing out copies of Cloud Atlas to unsuspecting members of the public.
It feels good & I'll be signing up for next year.
BTW, any Cloud Atlas lovers may be interested to know that there is a film in the making. The Wachowski's are involved & amongst the cast are rumoured to be James McAvoy, Tom Hanks, Halle Berry & Ian Mckellen. So, it'll either be brilliant or a HUGE disappointment.
Tried to give away
copies of Ben Macintyre's Agent Zigzag.
Wanted to do some good and lugged forty books in a backpack up to care homes and hospitals and was met with massive indifference.
Tried to leave some in a nice local pub and was again met with a stunning apathy. They didn't have to peddle them just leave them on the bar. No? Oh for fuck's sake.
Took four hours of tramping around south London to finally get shot of them. Everyone was just suspicious and had to be told ten times that they didn't have to pay for them.
I won't be doing it again.
Shame.
I must admit I'm trying to target and give my books to people I already know who don't read that much. I tried to give one away in my local the other night to someone who works there and I've known for a few months and I was met with a rather non plussed look. It is rather dissapointing when you are simply trying to give a book away.
It's proving to be harder than I had imagined.
Most people look at the book like it's going to go off in their hands. I think part of the problem could be that they think it's going to be a religious tome and i'm trying to convert them, or they expect me to try and charge them once they accept the book from me.
When I signed up I had no idea how many books I would be expected to shift. 48 is a lot of books to give away