The best part of my job as a bookseller at Capitol Hill Books was recommending books to customers. There’s no greater pleasure than sharing a life-changing title.
Through World Book Night, on April 23rd, I get to relive that pleasure. Why April 23rd? April 23 is the UNESCO International Day of the Book, chosen in honor of Shakespeare and Cervantes, who both died on April 23 1616. (It is also the anniversary of Shakespeare’s birthday.)
Book givers – that’s me! – will pick up copies of their chosen books from a local bookstore. The mission is to distribute the books to people who might not normally be reading. I’m considering heading down to Denver’s 16th street mall to give books away to people there.
I’m in charge of giving away 20 copies of the short story collection The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. My local bookstore pickup is the Tattered Cover on Colfax.
This is one of my favorite books – the writing is crisp, powerful and engaging. The characters are both sympathetic and tragic. The themes are rich and wide. The meta-content about the nature of story and what it does for us is profound.
O’Brien is a master storyteller and while the subject matter may not at first glance appeal – men humping their packs through the horrors of the Vietnam War – this book should be on every writer’s list of must-reads.
Tonight I’ll be out and about in Denver giving away copies of this book to strangers. If you don’t see me – because you live in another place – I recommend picking up a copy of The Things They Carried.
Have you read this book? Have you heard of World Book Night? Tell us about it in a comment below.
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