Libraries gear up for World Book Night

Cheshire West and Chester libraries will be celebrating World Book Night next month with a book giveaway, displays and a murder mystery.

World Book Night is a national celebration of reading and books which takes place on 23 April every year.

Books are given out across the UK with a focus on reaching those who do not regularly read, and are gifted through organisations including prisons, libraries, colleges, hospitals, care homes and homeless shelters, as well as by passionate individuals who give out their own books within their communities.

The Council's Library Service has received 500 copies of 'Paris For One' by JoJo Moyes, which will be distributed to 15 groups in the borough who have provided "Warm Spaces" over the winter.

These books were won in a national bid to World Book Night by the Library Service. The book follows the story of 26-year-old Nell who travels to the French capital to meet her boyfriend, who then doesn't turn up. She then meets the mysterious moped-riding Fabien and his group of care-free friends.

Each book will have a leaflet placed within it explaining what's on offer from the Library Service.

It's free to join and use a library. In addition to printed books, there is free access to online computers and study space. Membership allows access to the popular BorrowBox app which provides thousands of eBooks and eAudiobooks for free. As well as this, the Libby app provides free access to hundreds of magazines online.

World Book Night is not just limited to hundreds of lucky receivers of free books. There is an opportunity to download one of four free audiobooks, on a first-come first-service basis:

The four books are:

• 'Maybe I Don't Belong Here' by David Harewood, narrated by David Harewood
• 'One Body: A Retrospective' by Catherine Simpson, narrated by Catherine Simpson
• 'The Natural Health Service' by Isabel Hardman, narrated by Isabel Hardman
• 'The Woman In The White Kimono' by Ana Johns, narrated by Laurence Bouvard

World Book Night is run by The Reading Agency, a UK-wide charity that tackles life's big challenges through the proven power of reading. In England, 31 per cent of adults don't read for pleasure, rising to 46 per cent of young people (aged 16 to 24). It has been shown that reading for pleasure is linked to fewer feelings of stress and depression, better sleeping patterns and improved literacy.