By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
For his 450th birthday, William Shakespeare didn’t look a day over fifty-two. Wednesday was World Book Night, an event celebrated to mark the birth of the famous playwright, and Susan Keller made sure she did her part.
Keller was selected as a book giver for World Book Night and passed out 20 editions of Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed.
“I heard about four years ago when it was done over in England and Germany and I thought what a great, great idea,” explained Keller. “And then the next year, which would have been three years ago, they started in the U.S. So I right away applied to be a giver and I’ve given away—this is the third year.
“Last year I gave away The Tender Bar and I went to Gus’s and just gave it out to people at the bar.”
World Book Night was started in Europe as a way to celebrate and encourage the love of reading. Thirty-eight books were available during World Book Night this year, ranging from Bridge to Terabithia and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children to classics like Catch-22 and The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
“My first year, I told them what I wanted to do, working here at the library, we have a lot of people come in, never check out a book, only use the computers. So the very first year, I gave them to computer users and said, ‘You know what, we’re a library too, we have books.’
“They seemed to appreciate it,” Keller said with a smile. “One guy about a year later, he said when are going to do that giving away books again. And I thought that was kind of neat.”
Keller said as a book giver, they were allowed to pick three books and, having already read Wild and thinking “it was a hoot,” she chose that as one of her three choices. Keller passed copies out to library patrons and random people on the street.
“A lot of people are shocked,” Keller said when she hands them a book.
“I thought it was surprising and astounding,” said Kenneth King, who had been standing outside of the library Wednesday evening when Keller went on her rounds of distributing books. “I think it’s a worthy cause to try to get more people to read.”
“I think it’s neat for Bucyrus to be a part of something that goes on all over the place and there are certainly people that would appreciate a book here,” Keller said. “We do those Little Free Libraries and I fill those up too. It’s amazing how quickly you need to replace those books. So I think there is an interest in reading—and among some people, a real love of reading.”
The Bucyrus Public Library held a “Wild” Party in honor of World Book Night, which featured local hikers as well as hiking-related books, snacks, and games.
Carla Seif was a local hiker who attended the “Wild” Party to share her experiences. She started out doing day hikes with her husband and has been to the McAfee Knob and the Grayson Highlands on the Appalachian Trail and has hiked New River Gorge in West Virginia.
Lisa Miller was another local book giver who stopped by the library’s event. She had spent the day passing out copies of Peter Heller’s The Dog Stars.
“I have had a passion for reading since the Dick and Jane years. I thank my teachers and parents for providing books,” said Miller.
Miller has since passed that love of reading on to her children and grandchildren and, on Wednesday, maybe even a few new readers.
Miller said she passed out copies at the Galion YMCA and even gave a copy at Hardy’s drive-thru.