Commentor Alison just reminded me — today is World Book Night 2012:
World Book Night is an annual celebration designed to spread a love of reading and books. To be held in the U.S. as well as the U.K. and Ireland on April 23, 2012. It will see tens of thousands of people go out into their communities to spread the joy and love of reading by giving out free World Book Night paperbacks.
I’ll admit I had not heard of this celebration until Paul Constant at the Stranger asked his readers where he should distribute his copies of A Prayer for Owen Meany.
I’l also admit I’ve only read a few of this year’s 30 books: Kindred (which is a masterpiece, but not an easy read), The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (also excellent), I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (the only one I think is on just about every American high school’s required-reading list), My Sister’s Keeper (a good page-turner with an infuriating cheat of an ending, IMO). And The Poisonwood Bible, The Glass Castle, and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks are on my To-Be-Read stack… well, shelf… okay, multiple bookcases. (Blogging plays hell with my capacity for long-form reading.)
The planners certainly can’t be accused of making the easy, popular choices; I doubt there’s a single one these books that hasn’t drawn a perturbed response from some “concerned parent” or library-suspicious “citizen voter” worried about naughty words, sensitive topics, the decline of classicism, or the bane of multiculturalism.
Anybody else here participating in World Book Night — or been waylaid by one of the Givers already?