World Book Night is an annual celebration of reading and books which takes place on 23 April. It sees passionate volunteers give hundreds of thousands of books away in their communities to share their love of reading with people who, for whatever reason, don’t read for pleasure or own books.
It is run by The Reading Agency - the charity with a mission to give everyone an equal chance to become a reader. Because everything changes when we read.
In the UK 35% of people don’t regularly read despite reading for pleasure being a globally recognised indicator in a huge range of social issues from poverty to mental health.
World Book Night is about giving books and encouraging those who have lost the love of reading – or are yet to gain it – to pick up a book and read. Line by line, paragraph by paragraph until they too have discovered the power of reading and the opportunities in life that reading can open the door to.
For World Book Night events in London visit the World Book Night Website www.worldbooknight.org
To mark the occasion, we're reblogging 24 classics (one every hour!) from our London Walks Reading List series…
The Great London Reading List! Essential London books that Londoners take away on holiday to remind them of home… books visitors should read before arriving in London… fact, fiction, poetry, all genres welcome. If you’re in the mood to recommend a great London bookshop, too, we’d love to hear it! All suggestions to the usual address, please, or leave a comment below or get in touch via Twitter @londonwalks.
Isobel brings in Great Expectations…
I know Charles Dickens is going to come up all over London in this series, so here is my favourite, Great Expectations, which coincidentally features Walworth where I lead the Chaplin, Cricket and Artists walk. It is where Sam Wemmick''s little house can be found, complete with gothic details, bridge and flag.
Adam adds:
“Orwell wrote in 1940: ‘When Dickens has once described something you see it for the rest of your life.’ I first read Great Expectations more than two decades ago and still ‘see’ almost all of it vividly in my mind’s eye.”
Our late colleague Jean also held Great Expectations dear to her heart. Writing for this blog last year she described it as:
“A rite of passage narrative, great characters and set in the landscape and time where my great great great grandfather was surgeon on the hulks.”
Isobel Isobel is an artist, journalist, linguist, prize-winning Blue Badge Guide and London Walks' token aristocrat. One of her ancestors introduced the waltz to this country.
World Book Night falls on the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth. To mark the occasion, here's the BRAND NEW London Walks Podcast, Shakespeare & London…
A London Walk costs £9 – £7 concession. To join a London Walk, simply meet your guide at the designated tube station at the appointed time. Details of all London Walks can be found at www.walks.com.
