“The more you read, the more things you know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go,” said Dr. Seuss, the author of many popular children’s books such as The Cat in the Hat and How the Grinch stole Christmas!
But it seems that despite selling over 600 million copies, his books have not been able to encourage many to read.
Statistics have revealed that a third of children in the UK do not own books and 44 per cent of young people don’t read for pleasure. In a survey of 1,500 people conducted by the charity Booktrust in 2014, it was found out that almost half the people preferred watching television and DVDs over reading books.
International Book Giving Day is being celebrated across the globe tomorrow with the aim of encouraging children to read and providing books to the countries where children cannot afford them.
Books, after all, are vital in a child’s development.
For Clarence Tej, a Malaysian exchange student, books have helped him bridge the language barrier and get into a study programme in London. “I recommend reading books to everyone as it really helps improve our English language and it actually applies everywhere in social life.”
For others books have been the perfect adventure. “Sometimes I feel like I’m addicted to reading,” says one student who held a copy of Elif Shafak’s Forty Rules of Love in her hands. “Once every month I feel like I need a really good novel. I find it really interesting to explore different worlds and struggles of different characters and learn from them.”
While the Book Giving Day has few organised events, you can be a part of it by donating a book to children’s libraries, schools or charities. Or you can take your non-reader friends to one of the many eccentric bookshops in London.
Libreria is a unique little bookshop on Hanbury Street. Mirrored walls and ceilings create the illusion of a bigger space. Soft music makes for a calm atmosphere. And thousands of books piled up on handmade shelves make it a bookworm’s heaven. What’s more: they have a no-tech policy.
“We encourage customers to put away their phones, simply to allow them to enjoy the shop and not be distracted by any of the digital noise that we are so surrounded by,” Jess Fogarty, the co-director of Libreria said.
Speaking about the trend of reading e-books, she said that while everyone has a preference, she believes that the paper books are truly fulfilling. “You can’t beat a physical book. We’re already so surrounded by screens all the time, it holds no joy for me to read off another screen.”