189th New Thing - Participated in World Book Night

My 75th New Thing on January 3, 2012 was that I signed up to be a 'Giver' for World Book Night. World Book Night started in the UK in 2011 where passionate readers across the country gave 1 million books to light- or non-readers to spread the joy and love of reading. Reading changes lives and at the heart of World Book Night lies the simplest of ideas and acts - that of putting a book into another person’s hand and saying ‘this one’s amazing, you have to read it.’ World Book Night 2012 was be held on April 23, in the US and the UK. They tried to get 50,000 volunteer book givers to hand out 20 copies each, for a total of 1 million free special World Book Night paperbacks!

I was a 'Giver'. I picked up 20 copies of The Stand by Stephen King from my local bookshop (Barnes & Noble). Givers are chosen based on where, to whom, and why you want to give books away. I haven't actually read The Stand yet but heard it is good (it was a bestseller). The novel was originally published in 1978. Plot is as follows: "When a man escapes from a biological testing facility, he sets in motion a deadly domino effect, spreading a mutated strain of the flu that will wipe out 99 percent of humanity within a few weeks. The survivors who remain are scared, bewildered, and in need of a leader. Two emerge--Mother Abagail, the benevolent 108-year-old woman who urges them to build a community in Boulder, Colorado; and Randall Flagg, the nefarious 'Dark Man', who delights in chaos and violence." The Boulder, Colorado part attracted me most!

Yes, I dropped the ball. I was supposed to give away my books on April 23, but I wound up forgetting about it and picked me books up at the store on April 23 and gave a majority of them away today April 26. I gave 13 of them to Children's Hospital Colorado (ranked 5th best hospital in the nation). The volunteer office lady was very grateful which in turn made me feel great!

What did you do today?