Drop Everything and Read Day

Drop Everything and Read Day is an annual global holiday dedicated to reading. It encourages you to drop everything and immerse yourself in your favorite book. It is celebrated on April 12. This day is intended to revive the waning trends of reading printed works, as more and more people use electronic resources and completely abandon books.

History

Drop Everything and Read Day is a relatively recent phenomenon. It reached the masses in 2006, when it was established by HarperCollins Children’s Books with the help of several schools. Among other things, it commemorated the 90th anniversary of Cleary’s birthday.

A similar practice of introducing book reading into the educational process was used in American schools back in the 1960s. Its goal was to teach children to read literature. It was quite effective. The creators of the holiday encourage people to treat reading as a school lesson, and at least a few hours a day to devote to reading books, not distracted by correspondence in social networks, etc. There should be only you, the book and the world recreated by the author.

Interesting facts

• Compared to 2000, people in the 2020s read 40% less often.
• Fast reading is more difficult for many people, but eye fatigue is reduced by 20% with this approach.
• It is known that Napoleon could read 2,000 words in one minute.
• The largest number of books can be found in the Library of Congress. There are about 115 million books on the many shelves there.

How to celebrate

Take Drop Everything and Read Day to read books. Reread your favorite works and try your hand at new genres.

Tell about the holiday on social media. Ask other users how often they read books. What are their favorite works, what genres do they prefer?

When is Drop Everything and Read Day celebrated in 2024?

Drop Everything and Read Day is observed on April 12 each year.

Observations