Free Jamie cookbook for every UK library

29.08.13 | Joshua Farrington - The Bookseller

A free copy of Jamie Oliver's latest cookbook, Save With Jamie, is being donated to every library in the UK.

The book, published today (29th August) by Penguin division Michael 

Joseph, focuses on cooking on a budget. More than 4,000 libraries

 in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will each receive a copy of the title, 

donated by Penguin Random House with the assistance of The Reading Agency.
Oliver said: "We know from the fabulous work that libraries do every day that everyone

deserves a chance to learn basic skills that can improve everyday lives. Reading and 

cooking are two of those skills for sure. I’ll admit I’ve been a late developer with the first, 

but I can definitely help with the second."

Miranda McKearney, outgoing director of The Reading Agency, said: "We can’t thank 

Jamie and Penguin Random House enough for this incredibly generous gift to library

 users. It sends out a powerful message—to live well we need to feed our bodies with 

healthy food, and our minds with great reading.
"For those under financial pressure, libraries offer fantastic free reading experiences

 and they’re a great place to go if you’re on a tight budget. We’re delighted to be working

 with the Society of Chief Librarians, Libraries Northern Ireland and the Scottish Library

 and Information Council to get Save with Jamie to every library in the country."

Penguin Random House c.e.o. Tom Weldon said: "Save with Jamie is a book we are

 very proud to be publishing and we hope that this gift will genuinely have a positive

impact on households of the UK."
Tony Durcan of the Society of Chief Librarians said libraries were experiencing "a tsunami

 of demand from users on tight budgets . . . So Jamie’s gift is extremely welcome, and we 

will put the books to very good use." He added: "It’s really cheering to have this help in

 meeting the needs of the communities we are passionate about serving."

Oliver has aroused considerable controversy in recent days with comments made while 

publicising the book and Channel 4 TV programme, "Jamie's Money Saving Meals". In an 

interview with the Radio Times, Oliver said low income families often made poor food choices, 

while in a Good Housekeepinginterview he said his restaurants would close without immigrant

 workers, because British people would "whinge" about long hours and tough conditions.

 Newspaper columnists have piled into the debate, withviews ranging from "Jamie is right; 

a poor diet is the national disease" to "Jamie Oliver has no right to tell us how to spend our 

money", coming from Oliver's Michael Joseph stablemate Jack Monroe, writing in the 

Independent.