Search begins to find Canterbury's favourite book

13 July 2006

A search begins this Saturday (15 July) to find Canterbury’s favourite book.

As a region of readers and book lovers, it shouldn’t be hard to find Canterbury’s top 20 books but agreeing on how we rate those top 20 will involve some debate and discussion, says Christchurch Libraries Manager Carolyn Robertson.

What’s Your Favourite? is an initiative of Christchurch City Libraries, The Press and Christchurch Book Festival Trust. It is based on a similar search held in Britain in 2003, in which more than 750,000 book lovers voted for their favourite book.

From this Saturday, readers and lovers of books can vote for their favourite books online at What's Your Favourite?, collect a voting paper from any Christchurch City library or clip the coupon from The Press.

By Saturday, 5 August, the first phase of voting will be complete, with the top 20 books identified. These will be presented in a random order and the public asked to vote again to find the top three books by the end of August.

The winner will be announced on Saturday, 9 September during The Press Christchurch Writers’ Festival 2006 and will be posted on the What's Your Favourite? website.

“What’s Your Favourite? has evolved into a Canterbury-wide event, with Christchurch City Libraries working to get our library colleagues in Waimakariri, Selwyn, Ashburton and Timaru districts and their customers to participate.

“All Canterbury residents are encouraged to take part in What’s Your Favourite? book promotion to ensure the results truly reflect the favourite books of this region,” Mrs Robertson says. “The more votes we get, the better the result will be in representing the favourite books of the region.”

She says reading is one of life’s greatest pleasures, being a fun, pleasurable recreational activity which also promotes life-long learning. “New Zealand is a nation of readers and this is borne out in Christchurch, which internationally, has one of the highest library memberships.

“Libraries fulfil an important role in helping those who love reading to broaden their reading experience by introducing them to new and a more diverse range of books.

“What’s Your Favourite? will get people talking about their favourite books and whet the appetites of others to enjoy new authors and genres,” Mrs Robertson says.

Top of Page ~ Media Release index