April 23rd is a big day (and night) for book lovers and bibliophiles around the world. Since 1995 the day has been designated by UNESCO as World Book and Copyright Day in 
honor of the birth and death of Shakespeare and the death of Miguel Cervantes in 1616. And since last year, the date has been celebrated as World Book Night.
The annual World Book Night celebration was begun in the UK and Ireland in 2011 and has now spread to the United States and Germany. During WBN this year, 25,000 volunteers will each give away 20 books in their communities. A half million specially printed copies of 30 different titles will be distributed tonight. Nearly 750 bookstores and libraries will be holding WBN events.
World Book Night is a great opportunity to celebrate and spread the joy of reading, the love of bookstores and to treasure the printed book. This year’s list of titles are all wonderful examples of books to share and cherish. Some of my favorite titles this year are: The Namesake, The Lovely Bones, The Glass Castle, The Book Thief, and The Things They Carried.
What are your favorites ?
Related articles
- Deutschland Joins World Book Night (travelbetweenthepages.com)
- Free and Cheap Apps on World Book Day (wired.com)
- World Book Night Update (laith.wordpress.com)
- World Book Night U.S. (rochpublibrary.wordpress.com)
Travel Between The Pages 
Happy World Book Day and Night! I’ve been having a great time this year trying to read my way around the world in twelve months. I’ve had some great recommendations from readers all over the planet, but there are still some gaps on the list – any thoughts let me know!
As a booklover, avid reader and bookseller, I’m just thrilled that World Book Night has become so successful. I think that the books chosen for WBN will always please some readers and disappoint others, but should be an opportunity to expand our reading horizons.
I didn’t know about the World Book Night. Where I come from, in Catalonia (Spain) it’s the day of the book and the rose, Sant Jordi Day we called it. Men give a red rose to women and we give a book to men. Enjoy your Book Day/Night!
I was just in Barcelona and was impressed by the number of bookstores that have survived and by the true love for books. Sadly, in the US bookstores are disappearing at an alarming rate.
That is really sad. There should be more new ideas like your recent World Book Night to encourage reading in the US then. I hope you enjoyed my lovely hometown. I am due for a visit soon too. Any book recommendations? My last book was On Wrting by S. King and now is also one of my favourites.
If you are interested in books on writing, an old favorite of mine is Natalie Goldberg’s “Writing Down the Bones”. It is from the 1980s, but is based in a Zen perspective on writing. If you’re looking for some fiction, I just read China Mieville’s “Embassytown”, which is wildly inventive.