Although most people think that Valentine’s Day is the only holiday observed on February 14th, there are several exciting holidays celebrated on this day. One of these is International Book Giving Day — a holiday cherished by book lovers all over the world.

This day encourages bibliophiles to share their passion for the written word with friends and family members by gifting them a book. We can’t think of any gift that can be as thrilling or mind-expanding as a book, and that’s why we encourage everyone to participate on this day.

The History of International Book Giving Day

This holiday was first conceived by Amy Broadmoore, the founder of Delightful Children’s Books and the Curious Kid’s Librarian, around 2012. She and blogger Zoe Toft created this holiday together.

In 2013, the organization of this holiday was transferred to Emma Perry, of the children’s review site My Book Corner, and a notable children’s author. Since then, the holiday has been observed by people around the world who want to share their love of books with others.

Some Quick Book-Related Facts

Since everyone reading about International Book Giving Day is likely a fan of books, we thought we’d share some of the amazing book-related facts we’ve come across. We think the following facts are pretty neat, and we believe others will too.

• There are over 130 million published books.
• The first-ever story written, or the earliest written one that has survived, is The Epic of Gilgamesh.
• If a person reads for 40 minutes a day, they will have read over 3.6 million words over the course of a year.

Observing International Book Giving Day

We’ve seen many different ways that people celebrate this holiday. One way is by simply buying books for friends and family members on this day. Another way people celebrate is by starting a book exchange program.

A third way to observe this holiday is by donating to a local library. In our opinion, all of these are excellent ways for people to celebrate. Of course, there’s one more method of observation that we think is probably our favorite.

People leave books in public places such as doctor’s offices with a note inside stating that the book can be read for free and should be passed on when they’re finished with it. We feel that’s a fantastic way to spread the love of books, as is using the hashtag #InternationalBookGivingDay on social media.