Giving books away: World Book Night 2012

Last year a program got underway in the UK with a simple goal: to put books into the hands of those who want to read but don’t have easy access to reading material. The reasons might vary they can’t afford to buy books, don’t live near a library, can’t leave their homes. But in the end they are simply people who need books.

This year World Book Night will take place in the U. S., the U. K., and Ireland on April 23 the UNESCO International Day of the Book.

Each country chooses its own list of books. In the U. S., the multilayer selection process was basically made by independent booksellers and librarians. In the end, 25 books were chosen; each will have 40,000 special World Book Night editions printed, for a total of 1 million book giveaways by thousands of volunteers on April 23.