2016 has been a pretty shit year in lots of ways. I studiously avoid politics on this blog but it can't be denied that this year has brought some fairly dismal surprises for anyone of a liberal and open mind. Alongside all that there has been a daily procession of abject misery on our screens from new kinds of wars across the world and with new kinds of displacement effecting millions of people, many of them here in Europe and nearby. A host of deaths of people who have been instrumental to shaping the culture of our times up to this point has perhaps only strengthened the sense that this year has been something of a tipping point.
Like so many others I have been asking myself, what the hell can I do? and it often feels like not a great deal. That said, I decided to try and do one positive thing before 2016 is out and so, returning to our shared life in books I have created The Quite Difficult Book Quiz. It's a traditional time of year to be doing in depth quizzes in the dark evenings (at least in this hemisphere) and if you would like to help, this is how.
1. Visit my Just Giving page: www.justgiving.com/bookquiz
2. Make a donation of any amount you can manage, large or small, to Firefly International, a charity who work with children and young people from Bosnia, Palestine and Syria: a small charity, underwritten by UK charity law and making a difference by partnering with local groups in those places.
3. You will then receive an automated thank you message with a link to a quiz.
4. The quiz has 100 questions designed to be not immediately accessible through our friend Google. There are 10 groups of 10 questions on all manner of fiction books and authors. Print it out. Keep it by the comfy chair, have a go at a few more questions every time there's a lull in the seasonal conversation.
5. You have until midnight on 31st December to get a list of your answers back to me and I will mark them, and the winner will receive a bundle of not very valuable but interesting books.
Just the smallest amount would be very welcome. The quiz has been running since the beginning of the month and as you will see, at the time of writing we have already raised over £280 which I am really very chuffed about.
Whether you are able to participate yourself or not, please consider blogging, tweeting or facebooking the details or just suggesting it to any bookish friends.