Buy a Book Day

Buy a Book Day is September 7th

Reading is an excellent way to learn more about the world, improve your literary skills, and escape into someone else’s life. Most people don’t read more than a couple of books each year, and even when they do they check them out from the library or buy virtual versions to read on ebooks. Buy a Book Day is a holiday that encourages people to buy at least one physical book from a bookstore (an independent bookstore if possible.) This helps support authors of the books and the bookstore that sells the book.

Books are culturally integral to society, providing knowledge, promoting empathy, supplying entertainment, inspiring the masses, and creating adored and memorable characters and stories for generations.

If you love books and bookstores, Buy a Book Day is your day for action. If you’ve been neglecting your summer reading list or adore a certain author or genre, Buy a Book Day encourages you to further your reading habits and purchase a book from your local bookstore.

Buy a Book Day was started by Philip Athans, a fantasy writer, during the American recession in Aug 2010 to encourage people to buy at least one book from a bookseller, whether national or independent, digital or physical, to support authors, publishers, readers, and bookstores, who operate on thin profit margins.

Athans encourages Buy a Book Day participants to buy new full-price books by a living author so the author receives full royalty and the publisher and bookstore receive full profit.

Any book bought on Buy a Book Day supports the reading and writing community and the valuable story-telling tradition.

Do you know these “print-worthy” fun facts about books and publishing?

• The Guttenberg Bible was the first mechanically printed book. It was printed using mass-produced metal type, spawning the “Guttenberg Revolution,” which made books widely available and accessible to the lower classes.
• According to Google Books, there are 230 million published books; however, since the total was conducted in 2010, and since Google’s algorithms are still being improved, there are still many more books to count.
• 675 million print books were sold in 2018 in the United States.
• The Bible is the best-selling book of all time: billions of copies have been sold during its lifetime. Don Quixote follows with over 500 million copies sold.
• There are 45.2 thousand authors in the United States.
• And there are roughly 2000 independent bookstores in the United States.
• The Guinness Book of World Records names Livraria Bertrand in Lisbon, Portugal the oldest bookstore in the world. It first opened its doors in 1732, changing locations and owners several times, and is still in existence today, never having stopped selling and trading books.

How Buy a Book Day Unites People

Visit your local bookstore on National Buy a Book day and buy a book and support your favorite author or genre and, in the process, meet fellow book readers and supporters. Bring your friends and family along and challenge them to buy at least one book to take home or to sit in the bookstore and read.

Try buying a book from an up-and-coming author to support and encourage new writers.

If you can’t make it to a store, find a burgeoning author or publisher’s website online and purchase an ebook or physical book from their online store.

And be sure to spread the word! Buy a Book Day is a grassroots effort: send out a #buyabookday hashtag on twitter or send an informative message to your followers on social media channels, and consider spreading the message on reader websites, such as Goodreads or other reading or writing online platforms.