All about books

 It's been a very literary week so far, sorry for my Africanist and politist readers!


But today is apparently World Book Day / World Book Night in the UK, and William Shakespeare known date of birth and death... Time to celebrate English-speaking literature and the fabulous playright, don't you think?


Read today's Guardian :

World Book Night: Sonnets for Shakespeare's birthday - in pictures

Today is World Book Night and Shakespeare's birthday. In a joint celebration of both, the poet Don Paterson matched a Shakespeare sonnet to each of the 25 specially chosen titles to be given away up and down the country this evening

http://www.theguardian.com/books/gallery/2012/apr/23/world-book-night-shakespeare-birthday-in-pictures?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487


My choice:

For Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

Sonnet 116


Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love


Which alters when it alteration finds,


Or bends with the remover to remove:


O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,


That looks on tempests and is never shaken;


It is the star to every wandering bark,


Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.


Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks


Within his bending sickle's compass come;


Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,


But bears it out even to the edge of doom.


      If this be error and upon me proved,


     I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

Not only is April 23 Shakespeare's birthday – his 450th this year – but it's a day when books are the centre of festivals and events around the world. 

In the UK and Ireland, today marks the celebration of World Book Night.This year, for the first time, individual readers are are being encouraged to register as community book givers and give a book away – be it to a friend or loved one, a member of their community or a complete stranger – to spread the love for literature.

Elsewhere, World Book Day takes place today, as organised by UNESCO, with festivities such as the Catalan Sant Jordi – to mark Saint George's day, in honour of Catalonia's patron saint. This "day of the book and the rose" is a Valentine's day of sorts in which streets are packed with stalls, and couples demonstrate their love by exchanging roses and books – giving publishers a massive boost along the way.

Also today, the title of World Book Capital will move from the hands of Bangkok to the Nigerian city of Port Harcourt.

Are you taking part in any of these literary activities? Show us how you are celebrating – or tell us what book you would give to someone you love. Share your stories and photos by clicking on the blue 'contribute' button. We will publish a selection.

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