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, since 23 April 1616 was the date of death of Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. 23 April 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.
23 April is a symbolic date for world literature, since 23 April 1616 was the date of death of Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. 23 April 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.
Exercise:
Read this BBC article and the readers' opinions and submit your answers on the highlighted questions in red:
World Book Day: What's your favourite read?
Are you a bookworm?
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American Bill Bryson is the winning writer who best captures the zeitgeist of modern England in the festival's poll, beating Jeremy Paxman and Zadie Smith.
Welsh readers chose Work, Sex And Rugby by Lewis Davies, Scottish readers picked Me And Ma Girl by Des Dillon while Northern Ireland voted for Desire Lines by Annie McCartney.
What makes the British such bookworms? What do you like about your favourite book? Have your reading tastes changed?
This debate is now closed. Read your comments below.
Your reaction:
It totally immerses you in medieval culture and politics
Ann, USA
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Ann, USA I have just read 1984 for the first time and it has blown me away. Possibly one of England's finest thinkers.
Ben Franklin, UK
Difficult choice. I can't decide between Bronte's "Wuthering Heights" or Huxley's "Brave New World". Very different I know but they both had a lasting impact on me.
Paul, England
Any book that you were supposed to read for school and actually enjoyed reading is a sign of a good book. For me, it was To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Fred Fenster, Uk
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The most accomplished observer of human behaviour
Linda, UK
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Linda, UK All Quiet on the Western Front by Eric Maria Remarque. At this time of indecision about the rights and wrongs of war, this is a must read for anyone not convinced of the human cost of battle, both physical and psychological.
Myles Donnelly, USA, originally from Ireland
"Winters Tale" by Mark Helprin, sadly out of print in the UK. This is really a book that takes you away into a completely different world.
Peter Galbavy, UK
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"Master and Margarita" - intelligent, surreal and very funny
Caroline, UK
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Caroline, UK My favourite of all time has to be series written by David Eddings, The Belgariad and the Mallorean along with the two prequels Belgarath the Sorcerer & Polgara the Sorceress. If you liked Harry Potter (can't wait for the 5th book!)you'll enjoy these.
Ned O'Brien, UK
Years ago I read a book of the true letters from a downed Second World War aviator. He knows he is dying from his burns and sees his life in brutal honesty. He knows he has been a liar and cheat all his life and doesn't hide it. He was also a man of great intelligence. It affected me greatly - so much so I joined the forces as well. The book is now out of print but was called The Pitcher and the Well by J D McDonald. It makes you reflect on the kind of human being you really are.
R, UK
I enjoyed all Bill Bryson's books very much, but as another reader remarked, the ones in which he makes fun of Americans are much the funniest, so my favourite is Notes from a Big Country. However, Notes from a Small Island did capture something very truthful about our weird and wonderful country, especially the descriptions of the careless destruction of our heritage by pulling down or defacing beautiful old buildings. We have so much history that we have grown careless with it.
To choose a favourite book generally, is impossible, but I am currently enjoying the Lord of the Rings trilogy and feel that this also represents something about England. Middle earth, especially the Shire, seems to be Tolkien's image of a perfect rural England, maybe a England that never really existed, but one that is definitely part of our national consciousness.
Lisa, UK
What about you? What's your best read?
4 comments:
When I was a teenager I used to be a bookworm, in those days I'd prefer reading more than another things.
nowadays, I think reading is the most marvellous thing that human being can make, never mind what kind of reading.However, if you ask me, what is my favourite book? I don't know the answer.
As I'll read every day, I've read many books. Some of them were really goods and I enjoyed reading them depende on my personal situation at the moment when I read them. For instance, when I was a teeneger I enjoyed very much a serie called the five famous by Enid Blyton.
Whether I have to recommend one book, I recommend you Leyendas by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer or someone book by Gabriel García Márques.
Thanks for your interesting comment and recommendation.
I particularly like Jane Austen ( "Pride and Prejudice", "Sense and Sensibility". I find her books funny and representative of her time.
See you in class.
Hello
I am not a reader. When a I was a teenager I read more than nowadays. The kind of books I like was thriller or historical events, like war in Spain.
I remember one book that I enjoyed a lot. The name of the book is "El Comedido Hidalgo". A lot of readers think that It could be life of Cervantes.
Hi,
1. I used to be a bookworm when I was younger. I would read sci-fi and fantasy. I'm still reading now but not so often as before.
2. It's true that British people read a lot, and I think is due the fact that there rains a lot, and when it's raining people usually read.
My tastes has changed a litle bit. Someday I would like to be a writer. Maybe I'd like to write a fantasy book, so my favourite one is The Hobbit.
3. Now I'm reading The Song of Ice and Fire of the american author George R.R. MArtin. There is also a series whose name is Game of Thrones. The books is amazing and I suggest it to read. They are so far 5 books, but the writer is going to write 2 more. So the will be 7 in total.
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