World Book Night 2012

Amongst the usual flyers in my e-mail in-tray was an advert from Waterstones regarding World Book Night. I don't usually pay too much attention to these as, like the Booker prize and it's ilk, it's not what everyone reads. I scanned down the list and noted that Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, was on it, as well as my brother-in-law's favourite author, Martina Cole, with her novel The Take. Also included are A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens and Sense and Insensibility by Jane Austen. All very well, I thought, until I spotted my all time favourite book in the list: The Player of Games, by Iain M. Banks.

I suppose most gamers will like it for the title alone, but it's certainly Banks's best (Use of Weapons comes close, and The Bridge is his other masterpiece, but he's not done anything that great in a long while: Surface Detail was dire!).

Anyway, the deal is that you get 24 copies and give them away. I'm not giving away my first copy (1st edition paperback) nor my signed copy, but if you want one, I'm more than happy to send you one on the day, which is 23rd April.