How are you celebrating National Book Lovers Day?

by Linda Post Bushkofsky

Research shows that lots of Lutheran women are book lovers. Are you among them? I sure am. And this coming Sunday, August 9, is our day—National Book Lovers Day. If you follow this blog, you know I’ve written about books a few times before: What are you reading? (2010); What’s on your summer reading list? (2010); What are you reading this Lent? (2011); Read a book, change your life (2012); and What’s on your reading list? (2020), to name a few. What’s left for me to say, you might wonder.

National Book Lovers Day is a day to put down cell phones and tablets, pick up a book, and simply read. (Of course, you might be reading an e-book on a tablet, and that’s okay.) What other ways can you observe this unofficial holiday in the midst of a global pandemic?

Read to a child. Have a child read to you. Both could be accomplished through physical distancing or via Zoom or a similar platform. For that matter, read to an adult or a teen. It’s lovely to listen to a book. Or help a child’s reading ability by having the child read to a non-judgmental canine.

Start a book group. Women of the ELCA has a great resource called Page Turners that offers up several different models for book groups. I’ve heard of congregational units that are holding book discussions via Zoom now. You can too!

Share some books at a Little Free Library (LFL) in your area. Use this map to find a local LFL. Perhaps you’ll even consider adding a LFL to your neighborhood or your church property?

Connect with a favorite author. Write a fan letter. Or sign up for an online author’s presentation. So many have become available during this pandemic. I participated in one earlier this summer with Louise Penny, and it was lovely to see her in her home, hear her voice, and get to know more about her writing process. Lots of new book launches are happening online now, so that opens up an opportunity you might not have had before.

If none of these ideas strike your fancy, check out this list of 75 ways to observe National Book Lovers Day.

Linda Post Bushkofsky is executive director of Women of the ELCA.