World Book Night 2012 by Pamela Lear

If I had the means to give away free books to strangers every day of the year, I would do it!  There is a glow that appears on people’s faces when you hand them a fresh, shiny new book.  They get caught up in the joy of something special, eagerly flipping through the first few chapters and gently handling the crisp clean pages.

While the majority of literacy programs and book giveaways focus on youth, participating in World Book Night 2012 showed me the value of sharing literature with adults as well.  I had the opportunity to give books away as part of this program.

The event was held nationwide on Monday, April 23.  Almost 25,000 volunteers like myself gave away half a million free books that day.  The idea began in the UK in 2011 and was a great success.  It expanded to the U.S., Ireland and Germany this year.  The idea is that individual volunteers promote reading by going into our communities and handing out free copies of a book we love.  Prospective volunteers had the opportunity to apply as a “giver” by identifying why we were interested in being involved, where we would choose to give books away, and what book we wanted to give.

I’m a voracious reader, and have always loved my book groups.  Having recently moved from southern California to Miami, Florida, I’ve been searching for other literary souls who love to discuss what they are reading.  My interest in sharing literature with others was a no-brainer for getting involved.  My background as a teacher and member of various book groups made it easy to generate enthusiasm for the project.  I chose to give books away at the Southland Mall in Cutler Bay, Florida as a location; it is an older  shopping mall in an area with a primarily lower middle class population; statistics tell us that it is approximately 37% African American, 25% Latin American and the remainder is generally white with small numbers of other ethnicities.  Other givers around the U.S. chose places as diverse as grocery stores, homeless shelters, medical clinics, even bars.

The folks at World Book Night gave us a choice of 30 books, which you can find on their website.  I chose to give away Zeitoun by Dave Eggers.  It is the true story of a Syrian-American man, Abdulrahman Zeitoun, who remains in New Orleans during and after Hurricane Katrina.  His family evacuates, but he stays to take care of his home and business.   He initially focuses on handling the damage to his properties, but when the levees break and floods occur, he finds an old canoe and heads out to help others.  In the process of doing so, the temporary authorities in the city decide that he is a miscreant; they arrest him, toss him into a makeshift jail and forbid contact with his family.  It is a story of a disaster and survival, racial profiling, and a belief in the U.S. that does not falter.  It is a very American story — heartwarming, sad, uplifting and devastating the same time.  I felt that the largely African-American and immigrant population in south Miami would be interested in such a story, and could relate to the devastation that may be wrought by a hurricane.

The Marketing Manager at the mall, Maggie Anzardo, was more than helpful.  She made sure we had a table set up in a good location, and her enthusiasm was contagious.  However, once I was there, reality set in.  With a booth at a mall, everyone assumes you are selling something.  Patrons made a point of walking far away from my table, avoiding eye contact, and even pulling out their cell phones to look busy.  I had to get past all that so, in my rather loud voice, I started calling out, “I am giving away a free book; really! No catch.”  At least half the people ignored me or murmured a “no, thank you,” but the others edged over to the table, took a look, and most of them accepted a book.

Most of the folks asked what I wanted from them. My response was that they should enjoy the book and pass it on to someone else who would enjoy it when they were finished.  As I put a book into each person’s hands, they looked so pleased.  My heart went out to a mother who had three sons with her and said, “I have five boys, lady.  I don’t have time to read but this looks good. I’m going to give it a try!”  A young man with baggy pants, dreadlocks and a huge multicolored Jamaican-style cap grinned from ear-to-ear and said, “I love to read, man.  This is so cool!”  I was inspired by a young woman who worked at the Credit Repair booth in the mall; once she discovered what I was giving away, she brought over two friends who also work at the mall, whispering to me that they all love to read.

It was a fabulous experience.  Some people stopped and talked about what they like to read; parents talked about how much their children loved to read.  We discussed the author, other books he had written, and why this book was so fascinating.  We talked about taking the time to share books and discuss them with friends.  I had a chance to recommend books and authors to some people who were looking for more good reading.  The conversations led in all directions.

I look forward to doing the giveaway again next year. If you are interested in participating, join the mailing list and you will be notified when it’s time to apply. It is literally a “feel good” – and “do good” — experience.

Read Pamela Lear’s post about Fifty Shades of Grey author, E.L. James, here, and her reviews of Lima Nights here, The Queen’s Lover here and Fannie’s Last Supper here.

This post originally appeared on my former blog, StyleSubstanceSoul.com.