National Book Lovers Day
Published 6:56 am Wednesday, August 6, 2014
National Book Lovers Day is actually celebrated twice each year. The first celebration is August 9 and the second is the first Saturday of November.
Book Lover’s Day encourages you to kick back and relax with a good book. From shaded spots under favorite trees to being tucked away in your warm bed or your favorite easy chair, there’s no better way to celebrate the day than to spend a few hours lost in a book.
Research did not find when or how the day got started but did discover that books were first made of parchment or vellum (calf skin) for the pages. The covers were made of wood and often were covered with leather and the books were fitted with clasps or straps. The first public libraries appeared in the Middle Ages and books were often chained to a table or shelf to prevent theft.
Shirley Burnham / The Prentiss Headlight—Juanita Lee has always been a book lover and has read more books than she can remember. She states she would be lost without a book around the house. She especially likes mysteries and tries to guess who dun’it. Her favorite authors are John Grisham and Richard Evans, and she works at the best place in the world–Prentiss Public Library.
More recent developments in book manufacturing include digital printing. The development of digital printing has opened up print-on-demand, where books are printed only after an order is received from a customer. E-books (electronic book) are increasing in popularity. They are available on the Internet and can be found on CD-ROM and other forms. E-books are read either by computer or portable e-book reader, such as a Reader, Nook or Kindle. In addition, of course, there is always our local well-stocked library where you can find gazillion wonderful books for any age and any subject.
With so many venues to get good books there is no excuse for you not to read at least a little. It doesn’t have to be Tolstoy’s War and Peace or some deep political analogy but anything that interests you whether it is new gardening techniques or the latest spy novel. By reading a book you can be transported away to a romantic world of fantasy or find how to solve your wild hog problem. If you are a political buff August 9th also was the day President Richard M. Nixon becomes the first and only president to resign while in office (1974). That subject may interest you and there are many books written on it.
Jeff Davis County has many local writers including Jim Booth, Scott Williams and Baxter Kruger. You may want to spend National Book Lover’s Day with one of their books.
Introduce your children to a variety of books as a way to celebrate National Book Lovers Day and enjoy a family reading time. “Reading aloud during the first five years of children’s lives opens their ears to the sounds of words, their eyes to the wonder of pictures, their minds to new ideas, and their hearts to a love of books and learning.” (www.readaloudguide.com)
So rekindle that love of books your busy life has pushed to the side and give yourself a break with a good read. Once you get started it will be hard to stop. Before long you may discover you are a Bibliophile, which Wikepedia describes as “one who loves to read, admire and collect books.”
