The Travelling Novel Announcement
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For a little while now I’ve been thinking about the idea of a travelling book. A book that is read by one person, sent to another, who reads it and then sends it on. How amazing would it be for a book to travel around the world from person to person and then find its way back to the original reader? How interesting would it be to see what other people thought about that book? To see the connections between people across the continents through the pages of a book?
I know what you’re thinking – “But Anjali, surely that’s what places like Good Reads is for? On there you can see the thoughts and the ratings of hundreds of thousands of books from people in every corner of the globe!” – and yes, that’s all very true. It’s fascinating to see what different people think of the same book. But to me, there’s no connection between person 1 and person 275. I want to see the connections between people that a book can bring. I want to see a book travel the world in the hands of readers who are connected both to the book and to the previous person in some way.
The Travelling Novel
The Travelling Novel is something, like I mentioned, that I’ve been thinking about for a long while now, and to be completely honest, it’s probably been done before, and it may not even work. It may be that I send a book and never see it again. Perhaps the postie will run off with it, perhaps we’ll get all the way to person number 10 and then it gets lost in the mail on the way back to me. Perhaps the courier van’s doors fly open accidentally and the mail falls out into a river, our book lost to the waters.
Perhaps.
But you know what? You never know until you try, and I really want to try.
How it works (hopefully)
So here’s how this is going to work (or not work – we’ll find out). I have chosen 2 different small books (convenient sizes for the postal system, you see) and I am just about to send them to 2 of my book blogging friends from around the world.
They’re going to read the book, fill in the details at the front of the book (name, city/country, rating of book etc) and pass it to or send it on to another book blogger/youtuber. And so the cycle will go. Until we reach reader number 10.
Reader #10 will read the book, and then send it back to me here in New Zealand.
All these details will be in a simplified form inside the cover of the book.
I’m really excited to see how this goes. I won’t be too disheartened if this doesn’t work, or if it takes years for the books to get back to me. Hopefully each reader will Tweet, Instagram or email me when they receive the book, or send the book, and that way I will know how it’s all going.
What do you think? Doable? Think I’m crazy? Well, we’ll see.
If this is something you’d like to be involved with, but you’re not a book blogger / vlogger, never fear! Do get in touch (see contact details below) and you can be the first recipient of the next book, which hopefully will be soon.
I will update you on Instagram and Twitter with travel progress, and perhaps at the half way mark for the books.
Social Media and Contact Information
Instagram: @anjalikay
Twitter: @Anjali_Kay
Email: anjalikay @ outlook.com
Use and follow the Hashtag: #thetravellingnovel