April 23 by any other name would sound as sweet: It's UNESCO's International Day of the Book, William Shakespeare's birthday, and the anniversary of Miguel de Cervantes's death. In short, it's World Book Night, where thousands of people pass out millions of books in Ireland, the UK, the U.S. and Germany.
Everyone who registers as a book giver gets 20 free copies of one World Book Night book, which might be a classic, a children's title or a popular piece of fiction (see the full list here). Givers are tasked with getting rid of every copy before the clock strikes midnight. Here's what givers have been up to today.
First, the children's books hit school desks:
Others offered titles as thank-you notes:
Some landed in the hands of strangers, either at senior centers or on street corners:
And it's already evening in Liverpool, where givers celebrated their work:
To become a book giver for 2014, sign up for the World Book Day newsletter here.