Piece for World Book Day Website for WBD 2009
We live in stories, we live through stories, we live for stories. Whatever we like to think about, talk to our friends about, shout about, laugh or cry or rage about, these are the things we like to read about. Books are the most interesting, most dramatic and exciting bits of life laid out in words and pictures for us to take in at our own pace and in our own way. Because the best parts of any book are inside our own heads, they can be fast or slow, loud or quiet, funny or sad – or so exciting our hearts pound beneath our ribs. Whether we read them on a crowded train or alone under the covers on a stormy night, books are food for our brains, fuel for our emotions.
Somewhere out there is a book which, when you read it, will make your chest tighten and the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. When you finally put it down, it will be with that magical mixture of joy as the emotional rollercoaster clatters to a stop, and disappointment that this wonderful tale is over. You will be gagging for the next one.
There is no such person as a non-reader, only someone who hasn’t found their book yet. World Book Day is the day when we try to find that book for each and every person in the country.