World Book Night 2012
Earlier this year, the inaugural World Book Night gave out 1 million free books to readers across the country. 40 titles including One Day, Love in the Time of Cholera, The Reluctant Fundamentalist and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time were distributed by keen readers, with a host of events and promotions built around the event, including an evening of programming on BBC2.
World Book Night will be back on April 23rd 2012 (what would be William Shakespeare’s 448th birthday), and the organisers are asking people to tell them their ten favourite books, with the outcome of the vote informing the choices for next year’s books.
The current top 100 features a number Get Into Reading favourites including Jane Eyre, Great Expectations, Little Women and Life of Pi. What other books do you feel compelled to thrust into the hands of the public? Maybe you’re mad for Melville, potty for Proust, or crackers for Cervantes? Make sure to let World Book Night know, and why not drop us a comment whilst you’re at it.
Non-American/British titles I’d like to see are:
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Disgrace and/or Waiting for the Barbarians by JM Coetzee
The Good Soldier Svejk by Jaroslav Hasek (although this is an unfinished work due to his death, so may frustrate a heck of a lot of people!)
I started reading The Palm-Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola today – another Nigerian novel – and I have to say it’s rather good.
P.S. I’m not sure if any of these were included last year or how strict the eligibility rules are.