“Hi, um, tonight is World Book Night, and I wanted you to have this.”
In my first post to the Beaufort blog, I promoted World Book Night, an event I had just found out about. Here is just what I said:
“I want everyone to love reading as much as I do! So, here’s an event I just learned about that seems totally awesome! World Book Night! Sounds cool, right? I know. The idea is that on April 23, 2012, across the nation, 50,000 volunteers will be handing out a total of 1 million free books to anyone and everyone that will take them. The volunteers are being called “book givers” and they will be handing out one of 30 popular titles (listed on the website), like print-superheroes mysteriously emerging from the shadows in the night to revive the secret pleasure of falling into a good book. So cool.”
Well, last night was April 23, 2012 and I was one of those book givers. From the thirty titles, I chose The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, a book I read my senior year in high school for a final project in English class. I wrote my own personal note to the reader—hoping they enjoy the book and share it with others—opened my giver box and slipped a copy of it in the first page of each of my 20 copies of the book. I carefully loaded them into my bag so they’d be easier to carry and then stepped out onto 42nd street.
Where to go?
I saw a group of givers on the NYPL steps, but I did not join them. I thought of setting up camp in Grand Central, but decided against it. Realizing I hadn’t thought this through as well as I’d thought I had, I panicked. What good would it do if I gave all my books to people who will just stick on their over-stuffed shelves and let it collect dust? Who should I give my books to??
I hopped on the 6, intending to start in Union Square. On the train I grew even more concerned. Even if I saw someone I wanted to give a book to, how would I approach them? People in New York are already wary of strangers and skeptical of free handouts. I wasn’t sure anyone would even acknowledge me. But I found my first recipient before I even got off the subway. Someone on the train smiled at me and figured it was the perfect segue. I stood up to get off the train and as I handed her the book I said “Hi, um, tonight is World Book Night, and I wanted you to have this,” she smiled again, said “thank you” and turned the book over in her hands, and I headed up the stairs onto the street. Success!
Clearly this was a battle with my social anxiety, but I didn’t want to fail the cause. I wanted to make WBN a success on my own level. My hesitation slowed me down, but I eventually spread the printed word to 20 random New Yorkers. In the process, I got looked at askance, waved away, ignored, thanked dismissively, called “generous,” and “sexy,” and met a few of the most gracious pedestrians.
With one book left in my bag, I descended again into the subway at Union Square. And a woman, not quite waiting for a train, glanced at me and so I went over and offered her my last copy. Just as I was about to walk away she asked me if WBN had anything to do with the festival of St. Jordi (Saint George).
At the time I didn’t know that it did, but she told me that in Catalonia in Spain it was the festival of Sant Jordi and that the day is marked by the tradition of exchanging books. She had posted on Facebook that morning that she hoped she got one! Nearing on 9pm, I was the one to answer that calling. Possibly the best way to end an evening of book-giving.
Happy day after World Book Night!
Step 1. Pick up a book.
Step 2. Read it.
Step 3. Share it with others!
Your New BEAU