World Book Night Recap

World Book Night - I can't even.

On Monday, I joined thousands of people across the world in handing out free books. I decided to go the random route and give my copies of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian to young adults in my neighborhood. I was the Santa Claus of books for under two hours, and hot damn did I like it.

The first book I gave away was right outside my apartment. A backpack-wearing guy was walking by at that moment, and I offered him a copy of my book. He accepted it shyly, then as he walked away, he started reading it. He was literally read-walking. I watched him do it for an entire block!

This is what 'read-walking' looks like

And things only went up from there. Everyone that I met and handed out books to was so gracious and excited. During my walk, I made a stop at my local parks and rec center - otherwise known as the place I run on the treadmill while listening to podcasts and the GNR song Night Train on repeat. They have a great teen program, so I dropped off a few copies for them:

Then finally swung by the part of Central Park near my house and handed off the last few copies to unsuspecting young adults. And because finding free stuff is fun, I left two copies on benches in the Harlem Meer with notes tucked inside:

This was an awesome experience on so many levels, and I can't wait to do it again next year. Anyone else have WBN stories to share?

Here's a post from Barbara Watson, who gave out copies of Because of Winn-Dixie this WBN.