It was on a 23rd of April that Shakespeare (1564) and Lolita´s author, Nabokov (1899), were born; that the Romantic poet Wordsworth died (1850); and, above all, in a year very easy to remember, 1616, that two of the greatest literary giants, Cervantes and Shakespeare, are said to have died. For that reason, this day has been designated as the World Book and Copyright Day by UNESCO.
It is not so important if research has shown that it was not the very same day when The Quixote´s author and the English bard passed away. Cervantes´ death date was based on the modern Gregorian calendar, while Shakespeare´s on the old Julian one, still being used in England at that time. Neither is it significant if the World Book Day is celebrated a few weeks earlier in the UK and in Ireland -on the first Thursday of March- because on the 23rd of April Saint George´s Day has priority.
What really matters is that, at least during these days, a world tribute is paid to books, its authors and the laws that protect them. One of the aims is to encourage everybody to discover and appreciate the sheer pleasure that reading can entail.Bookcrossing, recitals, literary competitions, prizes, authors signing their work, British children dressing up as their favourite storybook characters... But what about that growing number of infrequent readers? I'm not sure if this worlwide celebration succeeds in engaging them. If any, this year, they may take advantage of the bookstores discounts today and buy a copy of One Hundred Years of Solitude to decorate their livingroom.
