Thank you, World Book Night, for the chance to give away 24 copies of one of my favourite books. Last year I enjoyed handing out copies of C J Sansom's Dissolution - and this year I'm thrilled to be sharing my love of I Capture the Castle with friends and neighbours, acquaintances and total strangers!

It has one of the most wonderful opening lines in fiction, one of those sentences you can't forget once you've read it, and that you then recognise whenever you see it again.
Pride and Prejudice starts with: It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
Rebecca starts with: Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.
And I Capture the Castle starts with: I write this sitting in the kitchen sink.

Cassandra goes on to explain that she's actually on the draining board rather than inside the sink but by then the words have done their job, the reader's attention is well and truly grabbed! Dodie Smith captures the imagination and holds it from the first page right through to the last!

It's a pre-war coming of age story, a tale of growing up in a charming yet dysfunctional family, of living in a ruined castle without the level of money and possessions they were once used to.

I loved it and hope subsequent readers will love it too. The first time I read it, I so enjoyed spending time in Cassandra's world that I didn't want to leave it, and when I got to the end I went straight back to the beginning and read it all over again ....

Highly recommended!
Thank you, World Book Night!

During the day of World Book Night I'll offer these books to people I meet around the neighbourhood.
Any that aren't claimed then I'll take to the World Book Night Live Jazz event from 7.00 to 9.00 pm in Knaresborough Library to which everyone is welcome! I'll make the books available to people who are spending their Monday evening out and about in the town centre.

The image above is the front of the World Book Night special edition -
and this is the back cover!

This book is a gift. It is one of 1 million which has been given in the UK & Ireland as part of World Book Night 2012 to spread the joy and love of reading. We are glad that you are now part of this great book’s journey, hope that you enjoy reading it and, once you have done so, passing it on to someone else who might enjoy reading it too.
World Book Night 2012 is all about introducing new readers to books and we’d ask that you please share this book with someone who does not read regularly and help inspire in them a love of books. When you pass it on, ask the next reader to record their own thoughts on this book by visiting www.worldbooknight.org and entering the unique identifying number.

Loved it! World Book Night worked for me as I don't know if I would have picked this book up had I not been given this copy. Thank you, and I have now passed it on.

I've been aware of this book for decades but never felt attracted to read it. All I can say about that is more fool me! I have loved every moment of it, am passing it straight to my sister as well as buying copies for other family members. I have laughed, cried, rejoiced and despaired with the protagonist. Definitely one to read again.