With April 23 being World Book and Copyright Day, it is bookworms’ time to shine. Literary events and activities take place all over the world in celebration.

Why April 23?

In 1995 the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) decided to create the World Book and Copyright Day to pay world-wide tribute to books and authors and encourage everyone, especially young people, to enjoy the pleasure of reading. But why did UNESCO select April 23 as the date? Because the day is also the anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, as well as that of the birth or death of several other prominent authors.

2018 World Book Capital: Athens

Each year, UNESCO and the international organizations representing the three major sectors of the book industry - publishers, booksellers and libraries - select the World Book Capital for a one-year period. This year, the city of Athens was chosen for the quality of its activities from April 2018 until April 2019. There will be a calendar year full of books, reading, culture and events that promote knowledge in the city, according to the Municipality of Athens.

Countries that read the most

The World Culture Score Index conducted a study to measure the amount of time that people around the world spend reading on a weekly basis. The results of this study do not specify what type of material is being read, which could be anything from online news to work e-mails and magazines to books in print.

The study shows that residents of India read the most per week on average (10 hours, 42 minutes), while Thailand (9 hours, 24 minutes) was second and China (8 hours) came in third.

Reading in Shanghai

In a study conducted by the OECD, researchers found that over 90% of students in Shanghai, report reading for entertainment purposes, which is an increase over previous years. The increase indicates that reading might be gaining popularity among the citizens of this country. According to the Shanghai Library, a total of 839,000 readers had borrowed books from the library in 2017. On average, each of them borrowed 25 books and the top borrower read 2,386 books.

To celebrate the World Book and Copyright Day this year, six new bookstores have been unveiled in Shanghai. Among them are Sinan Books (which originated from a pop-up bookstore), Zhida Bookstore (which is the first “new retail+” unmanned bookstore in China), and the upgraded Writers' Bookstore and Longshang Bookstore. These new physical bookstores not only serve as a cultural venue for reading experience, cultural exchange and innovation display, but also play an important role in further popularizing reading and building the “Shanghai Culture” brand.

1. Sinan Books

Location: No. 517, Middle Fuxing Road

This new physical bookstore, established and run by the Shanghai Century Publishing Group, is housed in a nearly century-old four-storey European-style villa, which was built in 1926 and was formally the residence of the patriotic General Feng Yuxiang. Famous poet Liu Yazi and his family also once lived there.

2. Writers' Bookstore

Location: No.677, Julu Road

The bookstore is housed in an independent two-storey building and offers more than 3,000 types of books, among which 80% are literary books. Some of them are autographed editions signed by the authors and can be collected by literature lovers. Based on the advantages and resources of the Shanghai Writers' Association, a variety of events and activities themed around literature and life will also be held here.

3. Zhida Bookstore

Location: No.525, Guoquan Road

Zhida Bookstore (an offline bookstore where Tmall’s unmanned store solution is being first applied), has just opened for business as the first unmanned bookstore featuring the “new retail+” concept. The bookstore wishes to inject an innovative experience into a traditional store, which will then be empowered with a new vitality and become a younger, smarter and more open bookstore, offering a brand new shopping and reading experience to readers.

4. Longshang Bookstore

Location: No.142, Meilong Road

A former bookstore dedicated to the chemical industry on the Meilong Road, Longshang Bookstore has undergone massive refurbishment in the past year and has been given rebirth under its new name, which literally means the “bookstore on the Meilong Road.”

5. Dayin Lakeside Bookmall

Location: No.1, Shengang Avenue, Lingang New City

As the first bookstore in the Lingang area, Dayin Lakeside Bookmall has blazed the trail to create a new mode of operation where each book can be borrowed and read without having to purchase it. A reader with a reader card is allowed to borrow books with a total value up to 300RMB at a time.

6. BOOKSIMPLE

Location: No.1203, Xiwei Road, Xiadu Small Town

The bookstore is housed in a three-storey building, occupying an area of 1,800 square meters. The first floor and the mezzanine feature Wricoffee, which is a dining zone, a cultural innovation brands zone, an exhibition zone, and a reading zone for kids. The second floor is mainly used to display books and a gallery (J Gallery) is established there. The third floor is intended for activities (J Saloon).