Giving Away Wintergirls on World Book Night

Last night, I participated in World Book Night - an initiative to spread the love and joy of books and reading across the United States (as well as the U.K. and Ireland). My book of choice was Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson. I picked up my 25 copies from Flights of Fantasy, a local independent bookstore, and set off for Colonie Center Mall to hand out the books. My fear was that I'd chosen a poor location. I asked the girl behind the counter at Flights - where were others giving their books out?  She only knew that one person had decided to give their books out at the family center near the Crossings. A family center! That's so much better than a mall!

However, things were looking pretty amazing from the moment I got there. Not only was I able to approach single shoppers and strike a conversation with them, but I was also able to approach groups of friends who looked as though they might enjoy reading the book together.

Having worked marketing street teams before in New York City, I had a picture in my mind of what to expect. Most people will say no, others will grab and go, and a mere few will stop to ask questions. My expectations were dashed. Most people stopped to ask me about World Book Night and about the book I'd chosen to give away. A couple even told me that they'd pass it on after they finished. You'll see from my Twitter feed below - start to finish, I encountered hardly anyone who said no, and gave away my books in about an hour.

My only regret was not giving the book to any men. Not that I didn't try. I did. That is where most of my Nos came from. But it would have been nice to get at least one man interested in reading a book like this. 

For future World Book Nights, I'd like to create a bookmark to go along with the book. I wish I'd given people my blog url and my Twitter handle so that they could let me know if they'd read the book and whether or not they liked it. I did choose my favorite book from the list, so that I could be confident in my recommendation. I'd very sincerely love to know how others felt about the book. If I was able to make 25 impressions. 

I hope so.