A Few Good Books to Read for World Book Day

By Vivian El-Salawy on April 23, 2018

World Book Day or World Book and Copyright Day is an annual event that takes place on April 23rdof every year. It is organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to promote reading, publishing and copyright. However, there’s been a decline in the average number of books read by Americans per year, perhaps with the amont of technology present within our lives nowadays. Last year, the Pew Research Center released their latest data on American reading habits. The results showed that approximately 72 percent of adult sread a book in 2015, but that declined over the past five years. Iris reports that realistically, the average American reads about four books or fewer within a year.

Time is certaintly not an issue, with how much people binge watch Netflix and Hulu. Perhaps, the problem is that people aren’t finding the right types of books to read. Here are a few good books to read for World Book Day:

A Bad Idea I’m About to Do: True Tales of Seriously Poor Judgement and Stunningly Awkward Adventure by Chris Gethard (Humor)

Image via Pixabay

This book is truly hilarious – it follows stories from the life of Chris Gethard, an American actor, writer, and comedian known best for his role as the host of the Chris Gethard Show and the podcast “Beautiful Anonymous”. The book invites readers to join Chris as he reflects on tales from his adolescence to his adulthood, and it’s the first time I’ve truly caught myself laughing out loud while reading on my own. This is a great book if you’re looking for some laughs.

The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women by Naomi Wolf (Sociology)

This is a truly solid, feminist read. It is a bestselling classic that touches on the relationship between female identity and society’s perception of beauty/beauty products. Naomi Wolf is a progressive American author, journalist, feminist, and also former political advisor to Al Gore and Bill Clinton. Through this book, she shines a light on things that you may have never even thought about before and it leaves you with a mind blown.

Adulting: How to Become a Grown-up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps by Kelly Williams Brown (Humor/Self-Help)

Image via Pixabay

If reading is something that is truly painful to your soul, this book is more in the format of a “Chicken Soup for the Soul”, where it’s split up to many categories. It doesn’t necessarily carry a plot, and you can only read the sections you find relevant for yourself, but it’s great for students that are moving off-campus for the first time, or students that may have just graduated from college and are looking for any sense of direction in their life.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (Mystery)

You may have heard of this one already – especially because it exists both as a novel and a play. April, also being Autism Awareness Month, would be a great time to start this classic read. The story is told through the mind of Christopher John Francis Boone, who sees the world a little differently from everyone around him. You can follow Christopher’s personal investigation of the death of a neighborhood dog, which is full of oddities and strange surprises.

Seven American Deaths & Disasters by Kenneth Goldsmith (Poetry/Historic)

Image via Pixabay

If you’re a historical nut, then this is the book for you. Seven American Deaths & Disasters takes seven, well-known incidents within the United States and retells them using real mediums that people who were there for said incidents first learned about them. Think about it – how did you learn about the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and John Lennon? You probably learned about them through a documentary, maybe a textbook or a novel. This book takes the transcripts from live radio recordings or television “breaking news” segments, pulling you back in time to almost live the unfortunate experiences in the moment.

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami (Speculative/Science Fiction)

Written by Japan’s most popular and most controversial writer Haruki Murakami, this book takes you all over the place (quite literally and metaphorically). The novel “draws readers into a narrative particle accelerator in which a split-brained data processor, a deranged scientist, his shockingly undemure granddaughter, Lauren Bacall, Bob Dylan, and various thugs, librarians, and subterranean monsters collide to dazzling effect”. It’s a quality book to read if you’re into science fiction or speculative fiction.

Swamplandia! by Karne Russell (Bildungsroman, Magical Realism)

Image via Pixabay

This is a local favorite if you live in the South. As a New York Times Best Book of the Year, this novel follows Ava Bigtree, a thirdteen-year-old girl who has lived her entire life at Swamplandia!, her family’s island home and gator-wrestling theme park in the Florida Everglades. It touches on what life is like for true, Florida natives, breaks stereotypes and all kinds of walls through the investigation of family roles, roles within society, and even some of the more mystical aspects of the Bigtree family.

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