A literary equivalent to Dublin’s community bike scheme was launched today to coincide with World Book Day.
Top-selling Irish authors, such as Cathy Kelly, Martina Devlin and Benji Bennett, will be leaving signed copies of their books in public places across the country from people to pick up, peruse and pass on.
Book enthusiasts are encouraged to take part in the month-long event by leaving their own used tomes on park benches or in coffee shops for others to enjoy.
Books can be registered with the website www.bookcrossing.com, a free online bookclub that spans the globe, and tracked to see who picked them up and where they were dropped off.
Organisers of World Book Day Ireland said the initiative is aimed “at spreading a love of reading and books”.
But they recommend people protect their books from the elements if leaving them outside, by placing them in a clear plastic bag marked “free book”.
According to John McNamee, spokesman for World Book Day Ireland, "books open the doors to so many worlds and who knows what gem of a read you might find this year”.
"We are lucky in Ireland to have so many world class authors and we are immensely grateful to them for sending so many of their wonderful books on this fascinating adventure," he said.
Meanwhile, residents of the south Dublin suburb of Sallynoggin have vowed to fight Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Council’s decision to close the local library.
The council said the closure was an inevitable consequence of the current ban on replacing staff who retire or leave, and that it plans to operate a volunteer library service, opening initially for six to 10 hours a week.
Separately, bookish types are expected to descend on Ennis tomorrow for the start of the town’s annual book festival.
Among the contributors to the festival this year are Orange Prize-winning author of We Need to Talk About Kevin, Lionel Shriver; Irish author, Joseph O'Connor; Irish American author, Thomas Lynch and Senator Eoghan Harris.