Can I buy you a present?
Last year, a teacher friend called me the "book fairy." It was a happy moment indeed, and grew even more satisfying when some of the kids I work with caught on to the new moniker and started calling me the same. So when I saw a post about Buy A Friend A Book Week on one of my favorite biblioblogs, Cornflower, yesterday, I knew that this was a moment for me. Here is how it works according to the BAFAB website:
Celebrating BAFAB is easy. Just get yourself to a real-life or virtual book store during Buy a Friend a Book Week (the first weeks of January, April, July, and October) and, well, buy a friend a book! But here's the fun part: you can't buy your friend a book because it's their birthday or they just graduated or got engaged or had a baby or anything else. You have to give them a book for no good reason. In fact, this present out of the blue from you should shock the pants off of whomever you decide to give it to. And it'll make them happy. And that's the point: promote reading, promote friendships. Just make sure to let them know about Buy a Friend a Book Week, so they can spread the joy in turn.
Now in my mind you do not have to actually purchase a new book. You could give away a treasure from your own library or a find from a favorite used book store. Totally up to you. Just give.
In that spirit, I secured one primo, signed book today from a favorite bookstore that I will award to one lucky reader the night of October 7. This will be a random drawing from amongst all of you that comment here before that night. Will happily mail to Canada or across the pond. Cornflower asked people to comment with a title of a book that contained a flower. I am asking that you comment with a book title that contains a COLOR. Two examples - The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne or White Noise by Don DeLillo. Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy, right?