Everyone knows February 14th is Valentine’s Day, but did you know it’s also International Book Giving Day?
Apparently, that’s been a “thing” for several years now. The first I heard of it, though, was earlier today when I saw a post – one post – on Twitter. Why have I never heard of this before? Why aren’t bookstores and publishers worldwide promoting this? Why have I been conditioned all my life to hope for a rose or a card that usually doesn’t materialise, when I could have been my own best friend and presented myself with a book instead? That, my friends, is absolute rubbish!
An international day for giving and receiving books is an idea that really appeals to me on so many levels. In just five minutes, I came up with these reasons why books are better than roses, chocolates, and drugs:
Books don’t die like flowers do.
Books don’t make you fat or mess with your blood glucose like chocolates do.
Nobody judges you for showing off your new book on social media.
(Unless, of course, you’re an author and you wrote the book, in which case people complain because you’re somehow pressuring them to support you or asking them for money, which just isn’t the done thing, despite the fact that you’ve supported their careers in plastic kitchenware, fancy saucepans, designer linen ware, boutique underwear, party plan beauty products, and whatever other blarney they’ve asked you to buy. But that’s different, and I digress. And I’m not jaded, okay?)
You can stay home with a book and consume it as greedily as you wish without losing any respect.
Books are budget friendly. Do you have any idea how many books you could buy for the price of a bunch of long-stemmed roses in the middle of February?
Books are an investment in your mind and your soul.
Books are an investment in an author who will be more than happy to write more books for you to enjoy. It’s the ultimate gift that keeps on giving.
Books provide the most budget-friendly and instant escape from reality available to humanity.
Books won’t land you in rehab.
There is no law against driving with stories, ideas and knowledge in your system.
Not bad, eh?
So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and give someone you love, or yourself, a book.
If you’d like to suggest more reasons why books are better gifts than flowers and chocolates, feel free to leave them in a comment.
ng grown up in Bellingham, Washington, Lyra is a nature and animal lover with a ferocious love of epic stories of every genre, but especially sci-fi and fantasy. 
WordyNerdBird 