World Book Day Not Observed in U.S.
Today is World Book Day. Don't feel bad if you never heard of it, America doesn't celebrate it (I could go off about this but I won't, it's too pathetic). The festival was started by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading and to promote reading among children. UNESCO encourages participants to recommend a book to a friend or a child, because most books are read through word-of-mouth. World Book Day was celebrated in 30 countries last year, but not here.
Never fear, Bookblog is here to take up the slack. First, read this piece from the Timesonline in London about books that have had an impact. Then visit the festival website to learn about what you can do to celebrate. And you can attend World Book Day 2004 and 2003 by visiting the Online Reading Festival, which offers film, transcripts of webchats, articles and links from writers who participated.