World Book Night

[ladysprite]

So tonight was World Book Night, and I got to spend my evening handing out copies of 'Good Omens' to people at Faneuil Hall. And it was pretty darn awesome.

It started off a little rougher than I anticipated. The weather was against me - I had kind of hoped for a warm, sunny late-afternoon/early evening, where I could hang out in front of the buildings and chat up the crowds waiting for street performers and wallow in the general throng of humanity that always winds up gathering along the Freedom Trail. Instead, I was confronted with a miserable, gray day where the sun never rose, the temperature never got above 45, the rain never either thoroughly started or stopped, and the wind turned my umbrella inside out as I walked from the T station to my appointed destination.

But I persevered on, along with my hero companions umbran and metaphysick, and eventually sheltered and set up shop inside the food court. And I put out my signs and put on my cheery grin and set about trying to convince people to take a free book.

It was harder than I thought.

The first half-dozen people I tried to talk to all blew me off - shaking their heads, putting up their hands, hurrying away, and generally reacting as though I was trying to sell them a time-share or convince them to sign up for political mailings, instead of giving them a gift. A few people agreed to take books, some cautiously and some bemusedly, but it was slow going and a little disheartening.

But it wasn't all bad. I convinced a few people to take books, including at least one young man who blew us off, continued about 50 feet down the hall, then turned around, eyes wide as he parsed what we were actually offering, came back, took a book, and stayed to chat with us for a few minutes. And slowly, more people started pausing and paying attention and listening and taking books.

And then the horde hit. A group of a dozen or so teenagers bustled in, shouting and shoving and laughing. And I figured they'd ignore us or possibly throw things, but I am also nothing if not determined, so I jumped out in front of them and said, 'Hey! Who wants a free book?'

And most of them ignored me and walked by, or made faces, but one kid stopped, and said, 'Sure!' And I tossed him a copy, and the rest of the gang laughed and shoved their way past. Until about a minute later, when he turned back, with half of the rest following, and said, 'Hey! She wants one too!' And as I passed him a second copy, another kid turned back too and said, 'Hey, what about me?'

So the peer pressure avalanche descended, and in about 30 seconds we handed out the rest of our books, and the horde wandered off reading the back covers and flipping through their books, and I couldn't stop grinning.

They weren't the only ones reading as they wandered off either, and it felt good to see that. I don't know if I changed any lives, but maybe I changed a couple of days, at least. And I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that I will sign up to do this again next year....

Comments

[arachne8x.livejournal.com]

Which books did you disperse.

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

So tonight was World Book Night, and I got to spend my evening handing out copies of 'Good Omens'

:)

[arachne8x.livejournal.com]

Awesome choice!

[gyzki.livejournal.com]

If ever there was a book that should be given out free, as widely as possible, Good Omens is at least five of them!

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

The first half-dozen people I tried to talk to all blew me off - shaking their heads, putting up their hands, hurrying away, and generally reacting as though I was trying to sell them a time-share or convince them to sign up for political mailings, instead of giving them a gift.

Sadly, I understand this response. Far more often than not, what looks like a free gift does come with strings attached -- generally some sort of sales pitch, and if not that, then politics or religion. And the title of the book, to someone not in the know, might easily suggest either NewAge woo-woo or some kind of "self-help" quackery. But you're up against a mode of action which has been generally polluted by the greedy for a very long time. This is why we can't have nice things.

When you do it next year, a large sign announcing "World Book Night" and "Free Books Here" might help. Something poster-sized, on a stand with enough weight not to blow over in the wind. Maybe with a book-related quote in smaller print at the bottom, just to hammer the point home.

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

Reading comprehension matters - if you'll pay attention, you'll notice that I said I set up signs before I started giving out books. :)

We had several large signs announcing 'World Book Night - poster-sized and larger, with logos and descriptions. I was also wearing a badge that said 'WORLD BOOK NIGHT - I'M A BOOK GIVER!'

As for the title, it wasn't entirely my choice - I was limited to one of 30 books chosen by the organization, and it was the one on the list I was most familiar with.

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

Ah, so you did -- apparently my brain skipped right over that paragraph. My bad.

[cyan-blue.livejournal.com]

That is so cool :D

[blaisepascal]

I think I would have turned it down -- I don't need another copy of Good Omens. Did you have anyone turn you down on the grounds they already had or read that book?

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

The goal of the event is to target non-readers, so we didn't run into that too much. One guy saw the book and cheered us on, but he was holding other books and wearing an RPG t-shirt, so we knew he wasn't part of our target audience - and he agreed, and told us to make sure to give it to folks who weren't already True Believers. :)

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

Eeeeeeeeeeee! That is one of my favorite books ever! Did you get to choose which book you gave out?

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

Sort of. The World Book Night committee comes up with a list of 30 books that will be used for the event, and then each volunteer picks a first, second, and third choice of which book they're willing to give out. 'Good Omens' was my first choice, and I was lucky enough to get it.

(For the record, my second and third choices were 'The Handmaid's Tale' and 'The Lightning Thief.')

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

Good on you for persevering!

[johnpalmer.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you kept on going. I could (on a bad day) have been one of the people who'd refuse. And it's *not* you, and nothing to feel bad about. It can be all about interacting with people hurting too much (my emotions just might be rubbed too raw at that moment) or it could just be "whoa, I have no time to process this sudden, unexpected change from normal - and since I can't process it, I'm in minor panic mode, so I'm going to escape." In that mode, a hypothetical me doesn't want to injure your day, but wants to escape to comfort - so on behalf of a spirit brother/sister who might have been there, again, I thank you for carrying on and finding, and bringing, joy.

And while you might not have changed any lives (though you *might* have), always remember that it's not the big, life altering events that make a wonderful life - it's a series of small, minor-seeming bits of wonderfulness that put it all together. In that, Capra was not incorrect.

[hermitgeecko.livejournal.com]

That's wonderful! I'm so glad your Good Omens distribution was a great success.

[evcelt.livejournal.com]

Very encouraging!