Books are the mystery of human creativity, play an important role of a teacher, guide, and friend in our life. Without books life is impossible. Books share our pain, books guide to use to lead future with confidence. Books explore creativity and clarity in student’s minds. Books are teaching tools for teachers. Books library is a sea of knowledge for lifetime learners. Reading books make our life fresh and active each day. Reading books every day is as important as bathing. I love to read books and I am not able to imagine this world without books. Books explore our past, present, and future. We can create and imagine better future during reading books. We can solve millions of present time problems while reading books. We can analyze our past after during and after reading books. Books are with us from school times. Books never die. Books will exist till the end of this world. Only books can feel our pain and happiness. That’s how books play an important role in our life. What is world book day? World Book Day is an annual event celebrated every year by the people all over the world on 23rd of April. It is the most important event organized annually by the UNESCO in order to promote the reading, publishing and copyright among the public worldwide. Instead of celebrating it on 23rd of April, it is celebrated on 1st Thursday of the March in the United Kingdom. World Book Day celebration was started by the UNESCO first time on 23rdof April in 1995. Generally, it is celebrated by the authors, illustrators, books and to encourage reading among common public. It is the worldwide celebration of the books and readings and celebrated in more than 100 countries. There are many legends behind celebrating the world book day on annual basis on international level worldwide.
The connection of world book day celebration date means 23rd of April and books was established first time in the year 1923 by the various Spain booksellers in order to pay tribute to the most famous author named Miguel de Cervantes. The day is the death anniversary of the Miguel de Cervantes. The exact date of the world book day celebration was established first time in 1995 by the UNESCO to celebrate the World Book and Copyright Day. It was decided by the UNESCO to be celebrated on 23rd of April as it is, according to the Gregorian calendar, the birth and death anniversaries of the William Shakespeare, Vladimir Nabokov, Manuel Mejía Vallejo; death anniversaries of the Miguel de Cervantes (died on 22nd of April and buried on 23rd of April), Josep Pla, Inca Garcilaso de la Vega and birth anniversaries of the Manuel Mejía Vallejo, Maurice Druon and Halldór Laxness. One can get involved in celebrating the world book day by buying and reading some exciting and funny books from the market or popular book shops where all the favorite books based on brands, characters or authors are available. World book day celebration plays a great role in bringing kids closer to the books reading habits as well as creates interest in them to know about authors and other important things. It was started celebrating throughout the world by the UNESCO for easily promoting the reading habits among kids, publishing and protecting the intellectual property using copyright. 23rd of the April has been a significant date for the world literature as 23rd of April of 1616 was the death anniversary of many great personalities. The date has been decided by the UNESCO to pull worldwide people attention to pay tribute to the books and authors. It encourages people specially youngsters to read books, discover real pleasure and knowledge among books as well as creating new ideas for their extraordinary contributions towards the social and cultural development of the country or people. Giving a rose with each book purchase to the customer may motivate them to read books and feel respect.
World Book and Copyright Day celebration is specially carried out by the teachers, authors, publishers, librarians, all the public and private educational institutions, NGOs, working group of people, mass media and etc. Variety of programmes are organized on international level by the UNESCO National Commissions, UNESCO clubs, centres, associations, libraries, schools and other educational institutions.Working group people are promoted for the library membership to get the collection latest books written by famous authors. Various activities like visual art, drama, workshop programmes and etc can aid more motivation to the people. The perfect approach to celebrate world book day would be to discover an opportunity to do some reading right now. Do you have a book that you are not able to finish? Today is an opportunity to twist up in the lounge chair or a cover outside with some espresso or tea and appreciate each and every page of that unread book. Whichever way you think to celebrate the World Book Day, ensure it is an instructive ordeal for you. Why Is Reading Important? We can mention importance of reading in few points as: 1. Reading is fundamental to functioning in today’s society. There are many adults who cannot read well enough to understand the instructions on a medicine bottle. That is a scary thought -especially for their children. Filling out applications becomes impossible without help. Reading road or warning signs is difficult.
Even following a map becomes a chore. Day-to-day activities that many people take for granted become a source of frustration, anger and fear. 2. Reading is a vital skill in finding a good job. Many well-paying jobs require reading as a part of job performance. There are reports and memos which must be read and responded to. Poor reading skills increases the amount of time it takes to absorb and react in the workplace. A person is limited in what they can accomplish without good reading and comprehension skills. 3. Reading is important because it develops the mind. The mind is a muscle. It needs exercise. Understanding the written word is one way the mind grows in its ability. Teaching young children to read helps them develop their language skills. It also helps them learn to listen. Everybody wants to talk, but few can really listen. Lack of listening skills can result in major misunderstandings which can lead to job loss, marriage breakup, and other disasters -small and great. Reading helps children [and adults] focus on what someone else is communicating. 4. Why is reading important? It is how we discover new things. Books, magazines and even the Internet are great learning tools which require the ability to read and understand what is read.
A person who knows how to read can educate themselves in any area of life they are interested in. We live in an age where we overflow with information, but reading is the main way to take advantage of it. 5. Reading develops the imagination. TV and computer games have their place, but they are more like amusement. Amusement comes from two words “a” [non] and “muse” [think]. Amusement is non-thinking activities. With reading, a person can go anywhere in the world…or even out of it! They can be a king, or an adventurer, or a princess, or… The possibilities are endless. Non-readers never experience these joys to the same extent. 6. In line with the above, reading develops the creative side of people. When reading to children, stop every once in awhile and ask them what they think is going to happen next. Get them thinking about the story. When it is finished, ask if they could think of a better ending or anything that would have improved it. If they really liked the story, encourage them to illustrate it with their own drawings or to make up a different story with the same characters. Get the creative juices flowing! 7. Reading is fundamental in developing a good self image.
Non-readers or poor readers often have low opinions of themselves and their abilities. Many times they feel as if the world is against them. They feel isolated [everybody else can read – which isn’t true] and behavior problems can surface. They can perform poorly in other subjects because they cannot read and understand the material. Often the reader tends to “give up.” 8. Why is reading important? Let’s keep going… Good reading skills, especially in a phonics reading program, improve spelling. As students learn to sound out letters and words, spelling becomes easier. Also, reading helps to expand the vocabulary. Reading new words puts them in their mind for later use. Seeing how words are used in different contexts can give a better understanding of the word usage and its definitions rather than just the cold facts of a dictionary. 9. There is an old saying, “The pen is mightier than the sword.” Ideas written down have changed the destiny of men and nations for better or worse. The flow of ideas cannot be stopped. We need to read and research to build on the good ideas and expose the bad ideas before they bring destruction. Only by reading can we be armed in this never-ending, life-and-death struggle. 10.The fact of the power of written ideas communicated through reading is a foundational reason why some governments oppose free and honest communication. Illiterate people are easier to control and manipulate. They cannot do their own research and thinking. They must rely on what they are told and how their emotions are swayed. There is a good possibility that this is one of the main reasons phonics was removed from the schools about 100 years ago. 11. Finally, why is reading important? Reading is important because words – spoken and written – are the building blocks of life. You are, right now, the result of words that you have heard or read AND believed about yourself. What you become in the future will depend on the words you believe about yourself now. People, families, relationships, and even nations are built from words.
Think about it. All the Best Reasons to Start Reading a Book as Soon as Possible are: Mental stimulation, Reducing stress, Expanding your vocabulary, Improving your memory, Analytic thinking, improving concentration and focus, Entertainment for free, To conclude, reading will help to gain basic speech skills, and academic excellence can also be a “by product” of reading. The children the parents, who read on their own have better communication skills, are thinking more logically, and they embrace new experiences. They are able to concentrate for longer periods of time and they have discipline. It is best for children to learn at a young age that reading is important. Some people think that reading is boring and a waste of time, but we can be sure that these people never read a good book. They would be amazed by what a good book can do and they have absolutely no idea on what they are missing.
———–( The authors regularly contribute for “Kashmir Horizon”. Their views are personal)