The Henry Bloom Noble Library will be taking part in the largest book giveaway ever attempted. World Book Night (WBN) on Saturday March 5 will see 1,000,000 books given away on a single evening by 20,000 people who successfully applied to give away 50 copies of a title they have already read and love to other members of the public across the UK, Ireland and the Isle of Man. The selection of World Book Night titles offers a broad range of reading enjoyment, all accessible works of quality that have inspired readers to share with others. Borough Librarian Jan Macartney said: ‘Personal recommendation is such a vital element in encouraging greater numbers of people to discover the joys of the printed word so I am delighted that WBN “giver” Ruth Baxendale has chosen the Henry Bloom Noble Library as her venue for giving out copies of Carol Ann Duffy’s The World’s Wife. To be part of this groundbreaking celebration of books and reading for pleasure on such an epic scale is truly exciting.’ Ruth Baxendale said: ‘I am thrilled to have been chosen as one of the 20,000 book givers. I was inspired to apply as World Book Night falls on the eve of my 50th birthday and givers are allocated 50 books to give away. As a huge poetry fan what has added to the pleasure of the event is that I have been given the current Poet Laureate’s book to give away on March 5.’ The giveaway will take place between 6 and 8pm with the first 50 people coming through the doors receiving a free copy of the book. From 6.30 to 8pm members of the Isle of Man Poetry Society will be reading from Carol Ann Duffy’s book and reciting their favourite poems and attendees are encouraged to bring along their favourite poems to share. Light refreshments will be served between 6 to 6.30pm. Copies of all 25 titles selected for the inaugural World Book Night will be available for loan on the night. They are: Kate Atkinson - Case Histories (Black Swan) Margaret Atwood - The Blind Assassin (Virago) Alan Bennett - A Life Like Other People’s (Faber/Profile) John Le Carre - The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (Penguin) Lee Child - Killing Floor (Bantam) Carol Ann Duffy - The World’s Wife (Picador) Mark Haddon - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time(Vintage) Seamus Heaney - Selected Poems (Faber) Marian Keyes - Rachel’s Holiday (Penguin/Poolbeg) Mohsin Hamid - The Reluctant Fundamentalist (Penguin) Ben Macintyre - Agent Zigzag (Bloomsbury) Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Love in the Time of Cholera (Penguin) Yann Martel - Life of Pi (Canongate) Alexander Masters - Stuart: A Life Backwards (Fourth Estate) Rohinton Mistry - A Fine Balance (Faber) David Mitchell - Cloud Atlas (Sceptre) Toni Morrison - Beloved (Vintage) Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Half of a Yellow Sun (Fourth Estate) David Nicholls - One Day (Hodder) Philip Pullman - Northern Lights (Scholastic) Erich Maria Remarque - All Quiet on the Western Front (Vintage) C.J. Sansom - Dissolution (Pan) Nigel Slater - Toast (Fourth Estate) Muriel Spark - The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Penguin) Sarah Waters - Fingersmith (Virago) For further information visit www.worldbooknight.org. The Reading Agency, an independent charity and reading development agency, is one of the supporters of World Book Night. For more information visit www.readingagency.org.uk. The Henry Bloom Noble Library, 10 – 12 Victoria Street, Douglas. Telephone 696461. Ends