It turns out, though, that I really had been specially selected to receive this call.
This year's books have been specially selected "to appeal to and inspire people who haven't yet been turned on to reading", said organisers, with a particular emphasis on books for men and teenagers.
Settlers were not merely being asked to invest (which anyone could do) but had been specially selected to display skill and bravery in making their own fortune while righting a national wrong.
The titles chosen for this year's World Book Night giveaway were specially selected to appeal to "the 35% of the population who, for whatever reason, don't read for pleasure", particularly men and teenagers, with a recent survey finding that 63% of men feel they don't read as much as they think they should.
It also creates a striking diversity: among the more than 100 reservists who make up this elite platoon are left-wing kibbutzniks and right-wing settlers, goat farmers and lawyers, 22-year-old students and 40-year-old construction workers -- men who distinguished themselves during their compulsory army service and were specially selected to join.
(Discounted ticket prices start as low as $6). The concerts in the series are specially selected to appeal to In Unison members: Performers have included such world-renowned individuals and groups as violinist Itzhak Perlman, pianist Andre Watts, and the Boys Choir of Harlem.
Hasmukh Adhia, a bureaucrat who served as Modi's principal secretary when he was chief minister of Gujarat state, was specially selected to mastermind the scheme together with a team of five trusted researchers who were likewise sworn to secrecy.
Instead of the entire unit going, four of us were specially selected to link up with other units from Texas.
Our mission was to mentor the first class of Jamaican entrepreneurs, who were specially selected to undergo a 12-week "developmental program" at the newly opened Branson Centre.
Five months later, Seymour and Maitland were specially selected to hunt the Niémen, en route to Île de France, in the Bay of Biscay.
