I wanted to write briefly about the experience of giving out my copies of Margaret Atwood's 'The Blind Assassin' for World Book Night.
I spent the morning filling in the details slip at the back of the books with my name, the book identification number and the place where the book was given out (I don’t know how other World Book Night givers felt while doing this but I know it made me feel a bit like an author at a book signing – and if I could write like Margaret Atwood I would be very happy).
I started the giving in my local area then moved on to the town centre later in the day. I got a fairly mixed set of reactions. A lot of people were incredibly suspicious when I was trying to give them a book. They immediately assumed that there was a catch, that they had to sign up for something or make a donation. It’s a shame and it made me feel a bit sad that people are so cynical these days that they can’t even accept a gift without thinking that it is some kind of trick.
Luckily not everyone was looking at me like I was trying to steal their first born child – there were a few who were grateful to receive a free book and were interested to hear more about World Book Night.
I found that older people were more willing to stop and speak to me whereas a lot of younger people, unfortunately, reacted with variations of the phrase ‘I don’t read!’ as if it was some kind of terrible chore (which I suppose it may be to some).
I also gave a copy of the book to a few homeless people and a Big Issue seller and they were very appreciative which made it all seem worthwhile.
Overall I really enjoyed the day and the positivity of the people who were excited to receive the book far outweighed the negativity of the ones that looked at me as if I might be trying to entice them to join a cult. I’d definitely like to be involved with World Book Night again and I’m looking forward to 2012’s event which should be global.
