World Book Night April 23

Rowan Public Library

World Book Night is an effort to get 1 million great books in the hands of people all over the world.

The ultimate goals of this event are to give books to new readers, to encourage reading and to share a passion for a great book. The publishing, bookstore, library, author, printing and paper communities are behind this effort and have donated their money, services and time to the project.

How can you get involved? The idea is for book-loving volunteers to fan out across America on April 23 and give out 20 free copies of a book at a location in your community. You can volunteer to be a book giver by signing up through Feb. 1 at www.worldbooknight.org

Rowan Public Library is helping to promote this project and hopes to serve as a place for participating community members to pick up their free books. Many library staff members are signing up to give away books in the community, too.

The first World Book Night was held in the United Kingdom last year, and it was such a success that it’s spreading around the world.

World Book Night has a goal of getting 50,000 people to go to places in their communities on the evening of Monday, April 23, and give a book to a stranger or to people you might know but believe aren’t frequent readers.

You can go to a coffee shop or hospital, church or community center, an after-work party, shopping mall or local school or somewhere else you can think of — and give out 20 free paperbacks. These paperbacks will be specially-produced, not-for-resale World Book Night U.S. editions, and there will be 30 titles for you to choose from.

You will be notified in early February if you have been chosen to be a giver and which of the three books you will be given to hand out. You will then choose which local bookstore or library you’d like to pick up your box of books from in advance of World Book Night.

If you have questions about the project, check out the website at www.worldbooknight.org or contact the library at 704-216-7733.

If you’d like to give away books on April 23, sign up by Feb. 1 online or visit any library location to get help signing up online.

Books to choose from for distribution on World Book Night, April 23:

“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie

“Wintergirls” by Laurie Halse Anderson

“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou

“Friday Night Lights” by H.G. Bissinger

“Kindred” by Octavia Butler

“Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card

“Little Bee” by Chris Cleave

“The Hunger Games,” by Suzanne Collins

“Blood Work” by Michael Connelly

“The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” by Junot Diaz

“Because of Winn-Dixie” by Kate DiCamillo

“Zeitoun” by Dave Eggers

“Peace Like a River” by Leif Enger

“A Reliable Wife” by Robert Goolrick

“Q is for Quarry” by Sue Grafton

“The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini

“A Prayer for Owen Meany” by John Irving

“The Stand” by Stephen King

“The Poisonwood Bible” by Barbara Kingsolver

“The History of Love” by Nicole Krauss

“The Namesake” by Jhumpa Lahiri

“The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien

“Bel Canto,” by Ann Patchett

“My Sister’s Keeper” by Jodi Picoult

“Housekeeping” by Marilynne Robinson

“Lovely Bones” by Alice Sebold

“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot

“Just Kids” by Patti Smith

“The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls

“The Book Thief” by Markus Zusek