Gaithersburg Book Festival Volunteers Distribute 300 Free Books In Washingtonian Center

Literature aficionados and casual readers alike were in for a treat Tuesday evening if they happened to be out enjoying the cool spring weather in Gaithersburg's Washingtonian Center.

As part of the international effort called World Book Night, five volunteers from the Gaithersburg Book Festival—along with three of their kids—distributed free books to passersby. 

The group, which included Gaithersburg Book Festival spokesperson Robin Ferrier and Gaithersburg Elementary School principal Stephanie Brant, distributed all of the approximately 300 books they brought to hand out, Ferrier said.

Brant heads the operation and collects the books to be handed out, Ferrier said. The Gaithersburg Elementary School principal also delivers thousands of free books during her summer vacation to to encourage both students and adults to read.

"It went really well," Ferrier said. "People are always a little bit skeptical when you walk up to them and say, 'Hey, do you like to read? Want a free book?'"

"The only people who didnt want to take books were people walking or exercising. Everyone else was really open to stop and talk and take books and see what we had," Ferrier said.

Among the topics discussed with book recipients were the upcoming , on the grounds of City Hall—and the trend of more people using eBooks and Nook for reading versus physical books.

Among the most popular books handed out by book festival volunteers were Tina Fey's "Bossypants" and John Grisham's "Playing for Pizza".

Others included The Alchemist, Devil in a Blue Dress, Farenheit 451, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Good Omens, Handmaid's Tale, Lightening Thief, Looking for Alaska, Middle School, Moneyball, Phantom Tollbooth and Still Alice.

The group placed Gaithersburg Book Festival bookmarks in each of the books as a way to promote the event, Ferrier said.

This was the second year Gaithersburg Book Festival volunteers have participated in World Book Night—a celebration of books and reading held on April 23.

In 2012, World Book Night was celebrated in the United State, United Kingdom, Ireland, and Germany and saw over 80,000 people gift more than 2.5 million books, Ferrier told Patch.

"World Book Night was a great opportunity to connect with the community and remind them of the importance of literacy," Brant said. "It was also a wonderful way to mention the upcoming Gaithersburg Book Festival. The energy created by the books was contagious."