A Holiday for Giving Books

I just now realized that one of my favorite holidays is almost here! April 23 is St. George's Day. On this day in Catalonia, Spain, lovers exchange books and roses. Did you get that? THERE IS A HOLIDAY FOR GIVING BOOKS.

You can read my first blog post about this wonderful day here: http://notthenewyorktimesbookreview.blogspot.com/2010/04/my-new-favorite-holiday.html

I first heard about this several years ago when I received an Advance Reader's Copy of The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. The accompanying letter from the publisher talked about St. George's Day, which I'd never heard of. I eagerly shared this holiday information with my co-workers at Barnes and Noble. We wondered together why Barnes and Noble wasn't all over this. A holiday FOR GIVING BOOKS? It seemed like a no-brainer. (Not that I am always in favor of companies finding yet another reason to sell stuff to people, but this is BOOKS.)

My partner and I are both avid readers, and we have enjoyed celebrating St. George's Day together. There have been years we've missed it (maybe just one year) when she was traveling for work. But I think it's a pretty great thing. It kind of seems like a holiday just for us.

Will you be celebrating St. George's Day?

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