Today is World Book Day 2018.
April 23 is celebrated the World Book Day 2018: readers and authors are celebrating.
The event, born in Catalonia in the early 900s, then gained international recognition in 1996 so as to transform the Spanish “feast of the book and roses” into a day sponsored by UNESCO.
And if you're wondering what it has to do with it Pink with books, the mystery is revealed:
In Catalonia, April 23 is St. George's Day and, according to tradition, every man gives a rose to his woman as a gift for the occasion. The custom has not been lost over the years and, indeed, precisely in this regard, the booksellers of that Spanish region still give a rose for each text sold.
La World Book and Copyright Day is a worldwide tribute to books and aims to encourage everyone to discover the pleasure of reading, but also of writing, publishing books and protecting intellectual property through the copyright. In fact, he wants to induce reflection on the current situation of authors and publishing, underlining their problems and difficulties.
Curiosity
In Italy this day coincides with the beginning of May of the Books, the national campaign of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism. Founded in 2011, it aims to highlight the social value of reading and its importance as a tool for cultural, personal and collective growth.
From 23 April to 31 May there will be numerous initiatives aimed at involving everyone in occasions of reading and sharing through the official hashtag #MayofBooks.
Here are 5 good reasons to celebrate the event with a good book (and a rose)!
Reading means ...
1)… never be alone
Parents teach you to love, laugh and run. But only by coming into contact with books, does one discover that he has wings.
(Helen Hayes)
Physical books or ebooks doesn't matter. The power of books lies in making you feel safe and in the company of the characters they contain. A reader knows it well: just a book in the bag and everything takes on another meaning. There is no loneliness when you are with a book. Indeed, thanks to reading you can live new adventures and you can discover that you "have wings"!
2)… to defeat ignorance
Every time you read a good book, somewhere in the world, a door opens to let in more light.
(Vera Nazarian)
Reading is having the opportunity to look at the world with new eyes, with a greater awareness of what is the reality of the facts. In a world where ISTAT data on reading take on increasingly tragic traits, I would like to underline the great ability that reading has in warding off the darkness of ignorance. With a good book we can open doors and worlds that were previously unimaginable, look at things from all possible points to create our own critical thinking on what is happening.
In a world now invaded by fake news, reading and informing oneself represent the only concrete solution to defeat the bad - and dangerous - transmission of unverified news spread above all on social networks.
3)… forget anxieties and discontent
I have never had a pain that an hour of reading has not dissipated.
(Charles Montesquieu)
Happiness hides between the pages of a book: it is enough to open a book to feel better and forget - at least for a moment - the anxieties and discontent of everyday life. So what better medicine than a good read? I already imagine a smile that slowly gets printed on our faces ... don't you?
4)… know yourself better
When you finish a book and close it, there is an extra page inside. Yours.
(Fabrizio Caramagna)
It is inevitable: every time we finish reading a book, something in us has changed. The story, the settings, the feelings transmitted through the words written in black on white leave an almost indelible trace. Even the most different stories from the life of each of us help to reveal something more about who we are. And often it is precisely the characters in the books who most differ from the idea of ourselves who reveal to us some hidden traits of our personality.
5)… travel with the mind
A good book should definitely leave you exhausted when finished. You live several lives while reading.
(William Styron)
A book must make us travel and take us everywhere with the imagination. This is a power that very few have! The places that reading allows us to reach are infinite, as are the adventures experienced within the various volumes of literature.
Reading also means living intensely the stories told in a sort of symbiosis with the characters. So we can be with:
- Renzo when he married Lucia;
- Sandokan in the forests of Malaysia;
- Harry Potter in the corridors of Hogwarts;
- Bilbo Baggins smoking his huge wooden pipe with Gandalf;
- the Little Prince and his rose;
- etc.. etc..
These are just five of the very many reasons why the book is an extraordinary life partner that can improve our lives. And you have others?
