It sounded like a good idea. Give away 20 copies of a book you enjoy to people who may not be readers to share the love of books and reading. That sounds nice, easy, all hold-hands and sing Kumba-ya, right? (Now that I think about it, when was the last time, I sang "Kumba-ya"? Where and why did I use to sing it? Was it something we sang in school, or was it a children's choir song? Either way, that was a long time ago. I don't even know if I've ever heard my kids sing it, if they even know it. Hmm, maybe I'll ask them tomorrow, but for now - back to World book Night.)
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| My box of books, ready to be shared with the world |
Okay, so it was supposed to be easy. (This is what I said, not the WBN people.) I was going to get my pile of books, take them to a women's shelter and hand them out and be done. The book I chose was Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" - you can catch up with my blogpost from
Feb. 16. But, I couldn't make it to the shelter because, as usual, I had a jam-packed kid schedule. Now what? I thought I'd try a Metro station - it was along my route for the day, maybe people getting on the subway or on the bus would like something to read.
*Personal note here - this was not even an easy decision because I do not like talking to strangers. Believe me when I say I was in heart-thumping panic and a many sided argument with myself as I tried to figure out what to do with this box of books that were now my responsibility. I was very tempted to set them on top of the newspaper box and forget it, but that would be against the "rules" and I knew I'd feel bad for leaving Maya Angelou's beautiful books out there in the damp air.*
Let me tell you how hard it is to give away something for FREE. And a book, no less. Folks look at you like you're some kinda political, religious, philanthropic, scam-running crazed person. A book? For free? Must be up to something. Finally, after about 10 offers, a woman finally took the book with a tentative and skeptical "thanks".
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| My official lapel pin (did it make me seem less trustworthy? Not sure) |
The reactions in giving away the rest of the pile of books ranged from skepticism to surprise to thankfulness and whatever other emotions are in between. There were a lot who said "no, thanks", just shook their head, or tried to avoid eye contact with me. But I did find some people who accepted my gift. One woman actually turned back and asked if she could have another one. A guy waiting in his car asked if he could have one and wanted to know more about the project. Someone asked me if I wrote the book - wow, don't I wish! One man took it, looked appreciative, but admitted that he might not get around to reading it; I told him that was okay, maybe he would. One guy asked what it was about, nodded when I told him, said thanks and tucked it in his messenger bag. One young woman looked at and before walking off asked me, just to be sure, "can I keep it?" She smiled as she held on to it and headed along her way.
The Bible - or Shakespeare - said it is better to give than receive. I know, sometimes we don't believe that or it doesn't exactly feel that way. But when the folks accepted the book from me, I realized that it was true. I don't know what it did for those people, receiving this little surprise on a rainy, cold day, this small token of words, a story. But I know when they accepted it from me, the pleasure was mine.
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| My last book. |
Happy reading, folks!
For more information, check out their webpage
World Book Night or look for them on FaceBook.
