For the Love of Books - Celebrate World Book Day

Every year, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) organises World Book Day. The day is intended to promote and spread awareness on reading, copyright issues and publishing.

Whether you read online, find an article in a newspaper or magazine, immerse yourself in a comic, the importance of books and reading has always been something so many people find important. When Amazon launched, it had a devastating impact on bookshops. All of a sudden those delightful little bookshops were no longer and their business had already been damaged by the larger, more corporate type stores.

And then things began to change. There was a backlash and buying books rather than using a tablet or device became a novelty once more. Being read to, reading aloud, feeling the pages, immersing oneself in the escapism created by a favourite author was exciting and our imaginations got back to work through the power of words.

We all have a favourite book from our childhood and then another from early adulthood and then a book that we just have to revise over and over again.

However, as the digital age progresses we hope that books - the actual real, tangible object continues to make an impact on readers just as it has since the Magna Carta was written. Today is significant because it raises awareness on the importance of something that so many of us take for granted - access not only to books but also to knowledge. It is a given that in the 21st century we have the resources that we need to support our learning, yet the pandemic has highlighted that so many children do not have the basic resources required in their home to facilitate their learning and learning in isolation is clearly a challenge for children, students, adults… books provide some kind of support.

Whether your favourite book is about Winnie the Pooh or the life and times of Barack Obama, books can hold a special place in al our lives.