Here's the List!

World Book Night – The Books

Here is the list of the 25 books that will be distributed today in Great Britain. One million books—given away! What an idea! What a luxury!

Links to information about each author, about the books, and first-chapter excerpts can be found at worldbooknight.org.

In alphabetical order (except I’ve put the Canadians first!):

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
A Life Like Other People’s by Alan Bennett (UK)
Agent Zigzag by Ben Macintyre (UK)
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque (Germany)
Beloved by Toni Morrison (US)
Case Histories by Kate Atkinson (UK)
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (UK)
Dissolution by C.J. Sansom (UK)
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (UK)
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria)
Killing Floor by Lee Child
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez
New Selected Poems 1966-1987 by Seamus Heaney
Northern Lights by Philip Pullman
One Day by David Nicholls
Rachel’s Holiday by Marian Keyes
Stuart by Alexander Masters (UK)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John Le Carré
The World’s Wife by Carol Ann Duffy
Toast by Nigel Slater

How many of these have you read?

There's your reading plan for the next few months!!

World Book Night Coming - March 5, 2011

World Book Night is a celebration of the written word. On the March 4th, the eve of World Book Night, Margaret Atwood, Alan Bennett, Nick Cave, John Le Carre, Rupert Everett, Mark Haddon, and other writers will join an audience of 5000 Givers and 5000 members of the public for a glittering celebration of the written word.

The audience will be treated to wide-ranging performances and readings from some of the most celebrated artists from stage and screen, literature and art, as well as from some of the authors whose books feature on the list of 25 World Book Night titles.

The countdown begins. World Book Night will take place on Saturday, March 5, 2011. This dynamic and unprecedented industry-wide initiative to celebrate adult books and reading will see one million free books given away on World Book Night by 20,000 passionate readers to other members of the public across the UK and Ireland. World Book Night will take place two days after World Book Day, the established nationwide reading campaign.

A growing list of high-profile figures from publishing, media and the arts are lending their support to this ambitious initiative by becoming Patrons of World Book Night.

Jamie Byng, Chairman, World Book Night says:

“World Book Night is a unique collaboration between publishers, booksellers, libraries, writers and individual members of the public and one that I think is going to have an enormously positive impact on books and reading. There are few things more meaningful than the personal recommendation and having one million books given to one million different people on one night in this way is both unprecedented and hugely exciting.”


An independent editorial committee composed of a broad mix of booksellers, librarians, authors, broadcasters and other individuals carefully selected the 25 titles to be given away to the public on World Book Night. Prior to this, the entire book trade was canvassed for recommendations and hundreds of lists were received. The final selection offers a wide array of outstanding books encompassing all types of fiction be it historical, literary, crime and commercial as well as poetry, memoir and young adult. Whether a huge bestseller, a prize-winning debut, a lesser known gem or an undisputed classic, it was felt that every book needed to be an accessible work of enduring quality that people would feel passionate about sharing with others.

Author John le Carré says:

“No writer can ask more than this: that his book should be handed in thousands to people who might otherwise never get to read it, and who will in turn hand it to thousands more. That his book should also pass from one generation to another as a story to challenge and excite each reader in his time -that is beyond his most ambitious dreams.”

Author Margaret Atwood adds:

I [am] amazed not only by its magnitude but by its simplicity. The love of writing, the love of reading – these are huge gifts. To be able give someone else a book you treasure widens the gift circle. I was thrilled to be asked to support World Book Night, and doubly thrilled that The Blind Assassin was chosen to help launch it. Long may its voyage be!”

The World Book Night website is at www.worldbooknight.org