Care for a free book? Follow the hints and get yourself a novel!
Apart from her acting chops and commendable social activism, popular British actress Emma Watson (of the Harry Potter fame) is known for another peculiar initiative: getting people to read more by hiding books around London and leaving hints about their whereabouts on social media.
Inspired by Watson's project, a similar action was carried out in Croatia six months ago. Alis Pečarić Marić, the author of a book blog named 'Čitaj knjigu' (Read a book) that has more than 300.000 followers on Facebook, organised a scavenger hunt that had people searching for books hidden in various locations in Zagreb.
As expected, the initiative was met with enthusiastic feedback. People got to take free books home, but they also had some fun chasing down attractive goodie bags around town. It shouldn't come as a surprise that we were more than happy to find out the organisers decided to gift us with a second edition! This time around, Marić teamed up with the new bookstore franchise Hoću knjigu (I want a book), preparing another 'Magical Book Hunt' in no less than three cities: Rijeka, Split and Sisak.
The first action was carried out in Rijeka earlier today. Twenty books were hidden around town, including popular novels such as Jo Nesbo's 'The Snowman' and 'The Secret Life of Trees' written by Peter Wohlleben. Book lovers only had to follow the Facebook pages of Hoću knjigu and Čitaj knjigu to keep track of photo hints that pointed them in the right direction. All twenty novels were safely tucked away in specially prepared boxes, accompanied by small surprise gifts.
Dates for the other two scavenger hunts will be announced soon – make sure to check out the Facebook pages linked above. And yes, while it's more than probable all provided books will be Croatian editions of the international bestsellers, even those that don't speak the language are sure to enjoy the thrill of the chase. After all, you can always give away the book to a Croatian friend. We'll make sure to remind you of this great initiative once when dates for Split and Sisak get announced. In the meantime, brush up on your orientation skills… and don't wait for a scavenger hunt to read a book!
