World Book Night goes international
Most of you will no doubt now be familiar with World Book Night, a great event held with the wonderful intention to spread the love for books and reading. Supported by the entire UK publishing community, book lovers have the chance to sign up for being a book giver and choose their favourite title from a list of 25 books. If an application turns out to be successful, book givers are supplied with 20 copies of their chosen book to pass on to friends and family, spreading enthusiasm for their title and perhaps even encouraging less avid readers to develop a greater love of reading – a great way of celebrating the UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day on April 23.
Given my German background I have long been hoping that such a fantastic event would take place in Germany – and this year it is! Implemented for the first time in the UK in 2011, 2012 sees World Book Night go international and be celebrated both in the US and Germany, too. In Germany it is called Aktion Lesefreude and has a similar mission; to find 33,333 passionate givers who are willing to take on the responsibility of passing on 30 copies of a chosen title. The book list includes the German versions of many renowned titles such as Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose and Daniel Kehlmann’s Measuring the World.
For more info on this great initiative, check out the Uk website and, for those whose curiosity is piqued, the German website is worth a gander too!
