World Book Day
2012
Today was World Book Day, an annual event to get people who don't normally read, a book that will hopefully capture their imagination and promote reading. I was so excited to hand out books to people, especially because the book I picked was The Stand; the first book I remember picking up as an older teen that got me hooked on reading for pleasure.
Unsure who I should give these books too I reached out to a friend who suggested a park in downtown Austin where a lot of homeless people can usually be found sitting under trees across from the library. Perfect!!
On the car ride there Austin had lots of concerns about being in close proximity to homeless people. He wanted to make sure we had hand sanitizer and that we didn't actually engage in conversation with them. In his defense we lived in downtown San Fransisco for 15 months and had more than one frightening experience with a homeless person while there.
We talked, and talked about what it is to be homeless. I tried to press that although they may look different from our friends they are still people and shouldn't be written off. I assured him we would not be going into a dangerous situation.
When we got there I put as many books as I could in my backpack (The Stand is a hefty book) and asked Austin if he would be comfortable handing out the book marks. We started out walking through the park and approached the first set of people we came across and said, "Excuse me, today is World Book Day. Would you like a book?" Big smiles spread across their faces in place of the apprehension they had when we first approached. With enthusiasm said, "Yea! What book?", "Oh, The Stand! That's a good one!!"
At seeing their happiness and joy Austin jumped in to ask, "Would you like a bookmark?" More big, happy, joyful smiles, "Yea! Thank you so much! What's your name? Thank you Austin!"
Though the point was to get people to read who don't normally, it ended up being so much more. Maybe those people read a lot, maybe they don't. For us, handing out those books was about giving to those who have less. It was a chance to connect and see a community with has harsh stereotypes attached to it and a chance to change our own perceptions about the homeless.
It was a wonderful experience all around. As we drove off it was an amazing sight to see a whole park full of people with their nose in a book. As Carmen noted, "You just made an instant book club!"
Today was World Book Day, an annual event to get people who don't normally read, a book that will hopefully capture their imagination and promote reading. I was so excited to hand out books to people, especially because the book I picked was The Stand; the first book I remember picking up as an older teen that got me hooked on reading for pleasure.
Unsure who I should give these books too I reached out to a friend who suggested a park in downtown Austin where a lot of homeless people can usually be found sitting under trees across from the library. Perfect!!
On the car ride there Austin had lots of concerns about being in close proximity to homeless people. He wanted to make sure we had hand sanitizer and that we didn't actually engage in conversation with them. In his defense we lived in downtown San Fransisco for 15 months and had more than one frightening experience with a homeless person while there.
We talked, and talked about what it is to be homeless. I tried to press that although they may look different from our friends they are still people and shouldn't be written off. I assured him we would not be going into a dangerous situation.
When we got there I put as many books as I could in my backpack (The Stand is a hefty book) and asked Austin if he would be comfortable handing out the book marks. We started out walking through the park and approached the first set of people we came across and said, "Excuse me, today is World Book Day. Would you like a book?" Big smiles spread across their faces in place of the apprehension they had when we first approached. With enthusiasm said, "Yea! What book?", "Oh, The Stand! That's a good one!!"
At seeing their happiness and joy Austin jumped in to ask, "Would you like a bookmark?" More big, happy, joyful smiles, "Yea! Thank you so much! What's your name? Thank you Austin!"
Though the point was to get people to read who don't normally, it ended up being so much more. Maybe those people read a lot, maybe they don't. For us, handing out those books was about giving to those who have less. It was a chance to connect and see a community with has harsh stereotypes attached to it and a chance to change our own perceptions about the homeless.
It was a wonderful experience all around. As we drove off it was an amazing sight to see a whole park full of people with their nose in a book. As Carmen noted, "You just made an instant book club!"
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