World book day 2020

It's world book day today. A day to celebrate and promote reading.


It's not just about celebrating stories and supporting those who struggle to read but also helping those who struggle to access books. I love that children are given book tokens and specially priced books as part of the work done by the charity behind the day.

Image: Wonky stack of books topped by Kindle

Not all books need to be ordered from multi-national companies and delivered through the post. Although there are times when this is the best option, there are greener and cheaper ways to find books. Libraries in Britain are free to use and you can even register as a temporary resident (we did this in both Topsham, Devon and Gosport, Hampshire). Book swaps are starting to appear all over the place including in old telephone boxes and have been a big part of cruising for many years.

Image: Overfull wooden book shelf with rows of books

One of our favourite local shops is a small one run by the local hospice selling pre-loved books at very reasonable prices. It is packed with everything from old classics through local history and children's books to celebrity memoirs. Definitely our favorite type of recycling.

Another way of reading books with lower financial and environmental costs is ebook readers. There are lots of books available cheaply and resources such as Project Gutenburg have a large number of books downloadable for free.

Image: Black & white bookshelf with neat books

Books can also help us connect to our environment and learn more about the world around us. We recently got Rock pool. Extraordinary encounters between the tides by Heather Buttivant. We also have a couple of the Wild Guides and still love our now very battered Animals & plants of Britain and Europe.


I hope this has given you some ideas. Happy reading.




Last year I wrote about book ideas for teenagers. There are lots of other blogs under the label 'books'. This is one of the oldest ones when the deckhands were very little. 

I've recycled these pictures from old blogs - the top one is just a pile of random books, the bottom ones are marina book swap shelves.