World Book Night No.1

Tonight is World Book Night.
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.
(Note: Last year we asked London Walkers to recommend great London reads. Here's one of the best recommendations…

Kraken
By China Mieville

@londonwalks Not a Londoner (damn!) but China Mieville's Kraken is an absolute hoot-Loved it. Followed closely by Oliver Twist. #Londonwalks
— TonyaJ (@TonyaJ) June 27, 2013

The Ed. replies: Thanks Tonya! Oliver Twist is a much-loved work here at The D.C – be it in novel, film or musical form. Your other recommendation, however, took us right out of our comfort zone. Deliciously so. China Mieville's conspiracy-laden romp leads us deep into the research wing of the Natural History Museum where a prize specimen lies, something that comes along much less often than once in a lifetime: a perfect, and perfectly preserved, giant squid. When this rare creature suddenly and impossibly disappears from the NHM, curator Billy Harrow is thrown into a maelstrom of warring cults, surreal magic and assassins. Wildly imaginative stuff.
And because World Book Night falls on Shakespeare's 450th birthday, here's the BRAND NEW episode of the 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