Buy A Friend A Book Week

The second Buy a Friend a Book Week is upon us!

The rules are simple
Just get yourself to a real-life or virtual book store during Buy a Friend a Book Week (the first weeks of January, April, July, and October) and, well, buy a friend a book (or e-book)! But here's the fun part: you can't buy your friend a book because it's their birthday or they just graduated or got engaged or had a baby or anything else. You have to give them a book for no good reason. In fact, this present out of the blue from you should shock the pants off of whomever you decide to give it to. And it'll make them happy. And that's the point: promote reading, promote friendships. Just make sure to let them know about Buy a Friend a Book Week. (You can even order a BAFAB card from Zazzle.com to get your message across, or print out the explanation and include it in your gift book. Or, if you're not giving your friend the book in person, just point them to the explanation's URL.)

What's in it for you?
Apart from the joy inherent in giving, you get to slap a sticker on your web site to advertise your beneficence. (If you don't have a web site, stick with that joy in giving thing.) Spread the word by blogging about your choice of book and book recipient. Look at me, you'll be saying to your site's visitors, I am the sort of person who buys gifts for my friends for no good reason. Befriend me! Love me! Read me.

Missed the boat this time?
Didn't hear about Buy a Friend a Book Week until it was too late? Never fear! You could cheat and buy a friend a book off-schedule. We won't tell. But if that's not enough fun for you, you can wait until the next BAFAB Week rolls around. Remember, there are four BAFAB Weeks a year: the first weeks of January, April, July, and October. Sign up to receive posts from the BAFAB blog in your mail and you'll never miss a BAFAB Week. (See the subscription box in the sidebar.) And start thinking now about which unwitting friend you'll be surprising next....

Authors, publicists, and lit bloggers
You might consider holding book-related contests in conjunction with BAFAB week. One possibility: have people who buy your book during the week email you their receipts from online sales, then hold a random drawing for an autographed copy of the book or a gift certificate. E-book authors and publishers can promote their books as being particularly easy to send to a friend during BAFAB Week.

About BAFAB and its creator
Buyafriendabook.com began life just in time for BAFAB Week in July of 2005. Site creator Debra Hamel (contact) mapped out the basic idea for the site while lying awake one night after an emergency diaper change. Debra is the mother of two and a blogger. She writes book reviews for book-blog.com and for her print column The BiblioFiles. Debra is also the author of Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece.

Explanation to include in gift book:
It's Buy a Friend a Book Week and I've selected you as the recipient of a book. Know that this gift is given for no good reason. If it's your birthday, I don't want to hear about it. Anniversary? Not a chance. This is a no-strings-attached present given just because.

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So who am I gifting with a book this week? Well, if I mentioned it hear it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it? Guess you'll just have to wait and see....