When we heard how excited our own Michelle was to be chosen as a volunteer giver for World Book Night (see below), that got some of the rest of us thinking about how much we love books. So we put together this special edition of “Things Worth Sharing” with some of our favorite book related places and things. Share the link love with #thingsworthsharing!

Michelle

April 23, 2014 is World Book Night which is an annual event that hands out 35 different book types to people in the United States and the United Kingdom. World Book Night looks for 25,000 volunteers who will hand out 20 copies of books on their behalf. That’s a total of 500,000 free paperback books! Each year, they “select a range of wonderful books for our volunteer givers to share on World Book Night. We print a total of half a million books, and the book givers take these special paperback editions out into their communities in search of light or non-readers.”

Beth

You know how you finish a good book and maybe think to yourself, “what should I read next?” I love when people turn what they say right into a website, like the folks at whatshouldireadnext.com. Simply type in the title or author of a book you liked and get a list of suggested books, based on their “huge database of real readers’ favorite books”.

Kat

I am always looking for a reason to read more, but this article in Smithsonian Magazine about “Being a Lifelong Bookworm” gives me a good excuse to make more time to do so. According to the article, a recent study shows that reading helps slow the decline in memory as you age. So grab a seat and start reading! It’s even better for you than you thought.

Andy

Good independent used bookstores are hard to find, however, they’re still out there. Here’s a list of three of my favorite used bookstores to get you going.

Raven Used Books: They have a couple locations in Massachusetts, one in Harvard Square in Cambridge and the other on Newbury Street in Boston. All books in the store are reasonably priced and always in great condition. Not only that, but their selection tends to be very diverse. Put it this way, it’s not always easy finding used books by Chilean author, Roberto Bolańo, but they always have some readily available.

The Montague Bookmill: Arguably having the best tagline of any bookstore “Books you don’t need, in a place you can’t find,” the Montague Bookmill is located in Montague, Massachusetts and is the perfect destination for a day out. Converted from an old mill, the building now houses a used bookstore, as well as a quaint little restaurant offering great food. They also have a bar and, yes, you can peruse looking for books while enjoying your beverage.

Powell’s Bookstores: I was in Chicago, Illinois for a short stint this past summer and always like exploring any local used bookstores if I have the chance. This place FLOORED me. Not only did they have a huge selection, their variety, as well as their inventory was remarkable. They stock books I’ve searched for numerous times at numerous used bookstores and have never been able to find.

Photo credit: Foter / Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)