Carleton College will join hundreds of people in 5,000 cities and towns across the nation -- from Key West, Florida to Kodiak, Alaska -- to distribute free books to those in need as part of World Book Night on April 23. The Carleton College Bookstore will serve as the Northfield distribution center, and three members of the Carleton community will participate as book donors: the Bookstore’s trade book manager Tripp Ryder along with students Elena Levi ’12 (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Nicole Rhodes ‘14 (Vancouver, Wash.).
World Book Night is a nationwide effort to encourage reading by giving away half a million free books to those with limited access to books. Donors will have the opportunity to choose from among 40 specially-printed titles, ranging from literary works like Nicole Krauss’ The History of Love and Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible to young adult classics like Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game and popular recent young adult books such as Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games. In all cases, donors are encouraged to select titles which have personally touched them, and which will help to foster a love of reading in those who receive the books.
Further information on World Book Night is available at http://www.us.worldbooknight.org/. The Carleton Bookstore is located in Sayles-Hill Campus Center off of College Street. For more information, call (507) 222-7840 or email Tripp Ryder at tryder@carleton.edu.