The world from my window

They descended like locusts on the remaining copies of Half of a Yellow Sun . I started a stampede at The Enchanted Village quilting group when I told the assembled ladies I had a few books to give away. Hands shot up and there were chants of 'mine, mine, mine.' I emerged from the ensuing scrum shaken, a bit tousled but none the worse for my ordeal. I handed them out at the village post office, to the girls from the book club, to some intellectual types from a PR agency and to work colleagues. I posted them to my four siblings and to my mother. It was a great feeling. That's about it. Love Maddie x .

It was the instruction: ‘bring a wheeled suitcase, a trolley or a strong friend’ that worried me. Here I was, chosen as a ‘giver’ for the inaugural World Book Night on Saturday, and illegally parked on a yellow line outside The Book Shop , Bridport, with my boot open for any old car jacker to jump into. I rushed in. ‘OK, I’m here, let’s go,’ I said, sounding like Bodie (or was it Doyle?) from The Professionals . As if by magic, the owlish bookshop proprietor, looking like the shopkeeper in Mr Benn but without the fez, peered over his spectacles and said: ‘Oh, it’s you.’ He pointed to two large boxes of books. ‘There you are. Half of a Yellow Sun wasn't it?’ ‘Mmmm, yes,’ I said, not sure whether I should be basking in the glory of what seemed an intellectually challenging book choice or admitting I was on the reserve list and was happy to have anything. Twenty thousand passionate book lovers are giving away a million books this weekend. I had been hoping for a thin tome, maybe Al...