Here comes another one of those national, but unofficial holidays. In a crowd of so many, it can be hard to keep track, but you might have actually seen #BookLoversDay trending on twitter or posted around and now you want to know: what exactly is it? What is ‘National Book Lovers Day’? How does one celebrate it, and what’s so special about it?

Well, today, we’re going to feed your curious mind.

National Book Lovers Day, which is often abbreviated as BLD, started out as a popular tradition in the United States but is now celebrated on an international scale.

Origin:

The exact origins are still a mystery, but in the spirit of things, there is always space for using your imagination as to how it came about. Who knows if the dust from old books or the scent of new ones made an alliance to take over our senses and produced a consensus for some holiday fun? You never know!

Why we love books:

Is there a reason not to? 

• Books give us a sense of release from the shackles of reality. They are the safest way to get lost and away from the ‘realness’ of the world. Left on a cozy bed, lips still touched by an accompanying cup of coffee, a new and exciting literary journey awaits.
• You can just have a conversation with someone and bond over them.
• They say a picture is a thousand words, and a movie is a million. But a book is the spark to your imagination which leads to infinite possibilities.
• Having a tough day? Someone just broke your heart? Grab a book and try relating with it, trust me you’ll feel much better. Or you can slap that person with the book too. (Later you can even try the study table.) Yup, books always have a way to make you feel better.

What to do this Book Lovers Day:

• Starting with the obvious one, try reading a book, be it old, new, or your long-lost favorite. Anything will do!
• Taking a trip to the neighborhood library was the go-to option during previous years, but post Covid-19, going on various book reading platforms like Kindle, or online sites such as Project Gutenberg, Internet Archive, Open Library, Smashwords, Google Books, and etc. maybe a more wise decision. Not to mention trying out Web Novel sites like creativenovels.com and wattpad.com.
• Try sharing/exchanging some books with fellow book lovers, bonus points for turning someone into one by lending your favorites.
• Flooding your conversations with literary references is something that can be done even online platforms. Keep your conversations informed.
• Try organizing your personal library, and visit the literary works you may have said for a very long time, “I’ll read that some other time”. No more keeping it for later. Try it now.

Days other than BLD showing love for books:

Want more days to express your love? Here’s some that may interest you:

• February 14: Library Lovers Day
• March 2: World Book Day
• In 1996, April was officially crowned National Poetry Month,
• April 27: National ‘Tell a Story’ Day
• July 30: Paperback Book Day
• August 18: Bad Poetry Day
• Last week of September: Banned Books Week
• November: NaNowRiMo= National Novel Writing Month

So, for this Book Lovers Day, rekindle your love for books in your own special way!

Books can make you happy at the darkest of times, if you just remember to turn on the lights.

Got the reference, right? 😉