Yesterday, we shared a Q&A with Holly Bourne, author of Am I Normal Yet?, one of this year’s World Book Night books. As supporters of World Book Night, I’m really pleased to be able to share another fab Q&A with you this today, just before World Book Night itself, from Leigh Bardugo, whose book Shadow and Bone I absolutely loved and reviewed. This time, Leigh shares her reading habits, advice on recommendations for reluctant readers, and Shakespearean favourites. I hope those lucky people receiving Shadow and Bone this evening enjoy it as much as I did…! Continue reading “World Book Night 2016: Q&A with Leigh Bardugo”
Category: World Book Night
World Book Night 2016: Q&A with Holly Bourne
We’ve been supporters of World Book Night since before Adventures With Words properly kicked off, in 2011, and we’ve been talking to you about it most years since then. You can read all about its origins on the World Book Night website, but it came about in order to promote reading for pleasure for people who don’t read regularly, by reaching out to people in unusual places with a huge team of enthusiastic volunteers ready to give away a range of brilliant titles. This year’s set of books is no exception, and I was thrilled when the team at WBN got in touch to ask if we’d like to share some Q&As from a couple of the authors involved. This evening, Holly Bourne shares some insights into her reading habits, advice on recommendations for reluctant readers, and Shakespearean favourites (remember that anniversary?), as people all around the country prepare to share their love for her fantastically funny and feminist YA novel, Am I Normal Yet? Continue reading “World Book Night 2016: Q&A with Holly Bourne”
Happy World Book Night!
Tonight is the night! What are you giving for World Book Night? Continue reading “Happy World Book Night!”
Podcast: World Book Night Live!
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Join us in celebrating World Book Night, the anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth and death, and our first birthday! In a special extended live show, there is poetry, Shakespeare, readings from the selected World Book Night books and more! Continue reading “Podcast: World Book Night Live!”
Happy World Book Night!
Did you know it’s World Book Night tonight? For the third year running, on the anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth, and death, millions of books will be given away by book-lovers around the world to encourage people to try something new or get back into reading again? Continue reading “Happy World Book Night!”
World Book Night 2012 – what did you give?
April 23rd is no longer just St George’s Day or the anniversary of the birth and death of Shakespeare; for the last two years, it’s also been World Book Night, where a million books of all genres have been given away free to members of the public around the UK, and elsewhere.
This year, the shortlist was a little longer than in 2011, with twenty-five titles for givers and receivers to choose from. I was lucky enough to have a box full of The Player of Games by Iain M Banks to distribute, AWW originator Rob gave Misery by Stephen King, and on a very rainy evening, we took our novels to The Big BookBang at Slack Space, a not-for-profit arts space in Colchester. We had the privilege of advocating and reading passages from our books, along with eight or nine other givers. This was interspersed with an introduction to Book Crossing, plus local poets Fred Slattern and Mark Brayley, some stand-up comedy and even a local author.
Rob was first up to introduce his book. I was the last to advocate their book in person. The event was really well attended, with over a hundred people braving the dreadful weather to leave with a couple of lovely new free books, as well as some pre-loved copies from the Book Crossing tables at the back of the hall.
The full list of books runs like this:
- Pride & Prejudice Jane Austen
- The Player of Games Iain M Banks
- Sleepyhead Mark Billingham
- Notes from a Small Island Bill Bryson
- The Alchemist Paulo Coelho
- The Take Martina Cole
- Harlequin Bernard Cornwell
- Someone Like You Roald Dahl
- A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens
- Room Emma Donoghue
- Rebecca Daphne Du Maurier
- The Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro
- Misery Stephen King
- The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic Sophie Kinsella
- Small Island Andrea Levy
- Let the Right One In John Ajvide Lindqvist
- The Road Cormac McCarthy
- The Time Traveler’s Wife Audrey Niffenegger
- The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox Maggie O’Farrell
- The Damned Utd David Peace
- Good Omens Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
- How I Live Now Meg Rosoff
- Touching the Void Joe Simpson
- I Capture the Castle Dodie Smith
- The Book Thief Markus Zusak
Which would you have chosen to give away? Which have you read, and which are still on your list? Was something missing?
Some of my very favourites are there – Pride and Prejudice, Good Omens and The Time Traveller’s Wife. I would have loved to get a copy of Let the Right One In, as I loved the film. I’m really looking forward to reading Notes From A Small Island, as Bill Bryson became the Chancellor of Durham University at least in part due to his description of the city’s beauty in this travelogue of Britain. I would have liked to see a poetry collection on the list somewhere (I gave The World’s Wife by Carol Ann Duffy last year, she’s my idol).
Let us know what you think – what would you like to see there next year? I’d recommend signing up as a giver, especially if you’ve got a great event in your local area where you can share your books.
Kate Neilan @magic_kitten