World Book Day

Hello book worms,


For readers that reviewed my "Books in 2005" and "Tinder for Fascists" postings you know that I love to read a wide variety of books. While I am no fan of the work of the United Nations I will set aside my bias against the UN's efforts due to my love of books to promote the work of their UNESCO division which is hosting "World Book and Copyright Day" on 23 April, 2006:

EXCERPT FROM UNESCO'S PRESS RELEASE:

23 April: a symbolic date for world literature for on this date and in the same year of 1616, Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died. It is also the date of birth or death of other prominent authors such as Maurice Druon, K.Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and Manuel Mejía Vallejo. It was a natural choice for UNESCO's General Conference to pay a world-wide tribute to books and authors on this date, encouraging everyone, and in particular young people, to discover the pleasure of reading and gain a renewed respect for the irreplaceable contributions of those who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity. The idea for this celebration originated in Catalonia where on 23 April, Saint George's Day, a rose is traditionally given as a gift for each book sold.


Based on the UNESCO website I did not see any planned celebration of this date in the USA but given our love of "freedom of speech and press and our strong protection of intellectual property" , the World Book Day, looks like an ideal concept for my country to promote. The UK and Ireland already celebrated their own World Book Day on 2 March, 2006 so for more information you can review their excellent website at -- http://www.worldbookday.com/

So whether World Book Day will inspire you to curl up on your couch with a book, join a local book club, or donate some books to worthwhile projects such as my friends at -- http://www.booksforafrica.org , I hope you appreciate the joy of reading.

Be sure to "book mark" Space Beagle Notes :)

Todd