Books on the Underground is exactly what you might think: free books left on the tube for finders to keep…
…at least until they’ve finished reading it. They’re then encouraged to return it to the Underground for another lucky reader to discover.
You might be thinking that this is uncharacteristically lovely for the Underground: a place usually associated with sweaty strangers, cramped commutes and that ungodly screech. And you would be right.
However, bringing joy to the masses in the most miserable of moments is Books on the Underground. Their brilliant team of book fairies — which once included Emma Watson — circulate around 150 books a week into London’s tube network; encouraging Londoners to find, read and pass on a variety of books from various publishers and authors who want their work to be seen. The books are always marked with a sticker to differentiate them from lost property.
The initiative first started back in 2012 and has been recently revived, much to our delight. You can follow Books On The Underground on Instagram for live book drops, or contact them to be sent a roll of stickers if you’d like to share your own books.