Thursday, April 21, 2011

Spread the Word - April 23 is World Book and Copyright Day!

Can you imagine your life without books?

I know not everyone would classify themselves as 'book worms' but I'm sure all will agree that a world without books is simply unimaginable!  The extent of the social, cultural and intellectual advances which the written word has brought along is difficult to grasp but one thing is certain - humanity's stance in the world we are living in would be much different would it not be for the wonderful contributions of people sharing their thoughts, ideas and stories by means of books.

UNESCO took the inititiative to commemorate the written word. "By celebrating this Day throughout the world, UNESCO seeks to promote reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property through copyright. 

23 April is 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".

So, there is no debate about spreading the word - it's the right and responsible thing to do!

Take note of these interesting book matters:

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