Today marks a very special day for all literary lovers, book buffs and novel aficionados - today is Book Lover’s Day!

Books are a truly magical artform: they offer endless opportunities for escape, a bountiful collection of characters to fall in love with and can be read again and again and again.

To celebrate Book Lover’s Day, we reached out to our authors and asked one very simple, yet insightful and important question –

Why do you love books?

Here are some of their answers...

“Books, in particular fiction, give you a way to escape your everyday, at times humdrum, existence and allow you to immerse yourself in another world. I personally feel that there is no better feeling than finding a book that you love and forcing yourself to read only a chapter in one sitting so that you don’t finish it too quickly, savouring every word. Books are one of life’s real pleasures.”

Sarah Harrington, author of All The 7s

“I love books because they can spread messages that change somebodies life. You also can get lost in a whole different world. Escape from real life. I love a book you can’t put down! Or see the magic in a child’s face when they are looking at the illustrations and hearing the book being read to them. These can make very special memories.”

Tia Colcomb, author of Bumbly The Bee and the Day the Flowers Lost Their Music

“Books are a source of wonderment. Each one transports us into that magical realm of storytelling, whether fact or fiction. They ignite fire and passion within us, enabling us to develop as readers, writers and storytellers from an early age. Those who bring books to life for their children from the outset are giving them the best chance of success in the rigorous and demanding gcse's of today.”

Naomi James, author of Woof Woof, Zippy and the Circus Dog and Stowaways to Pirate Island

“I love books because they smell of wisdom. The musty stacks take me back to my old college. They transport me to a small catholic school in the Washington, DC suburbs. I step into the rectory of my former parish priest. I find there long dead monks, nuns, professors, and myself. A boy sitting in the stacks holds a book written in 1938, the year my father was born. He is the same boy that learned about Claudius and Valentinian. He loved history as he does now because the binding and dedication to 'dearest Viv' are alive once more in his hand; my now fifty three year old hand. I'm as careful as Saint Bede with the knowledge inside. It touches my soul and I feel again the passion of my first love.”

Charlie Walters, author of Spies of Ambient Light

“The significance of books is boundless. They offer escapism, laughter and knowledge with the ability of shaping our children's thoughts and understanding, allowing them to explore other amazing worlds and make sense of the real world around them.

Nothing can replace a book—I love the smell of the print, the feel, and the moments of stillness they provide.

I particularly love children’s books because they offer moments of connection with our children, letting us join them on a journey of literary wonder where anything is possible and nothing else matters. We all need that.

Books are like oxygen for our thoughts and minds, all from the comfort of our armchairs. Books deserve to be cherished and valued. Forever loved.”

N. C. Emmett, author of Bombus Bertie

“I love books because they open up new worlds for you by enlarging your world view without requiring that you leave your home. Great non-fiction teaches you about people, places and events that you would never encounter through personal experience, expanding the richness of your understanding about what is and has been. Biographies give insight into the unique and intriguing aspects of other’s lives while showing the commonalities in human relationships across history. Fiction goes further by creating people and worlds that never have – or ever could have - been. Reading books is also beneficial for your mental well-being. You can build empathy through exposure to other’s struggles. Books can calm by taking your mind away from your own problems as you get lost in the narrative on the page. They can also help you work through your own struggles, learning from and through the experiences of real and fictional characters. I love books because they are a treasure trove of human knowledge and potential, helping you to build your own.”

Rebekah Wanic, author of Nobility

“I love books for many reasons, but especially savoring the smells of especially old ones found in the basements of used bookshops. And those aromatic volumes are better yet if previous owners have written their names in the flyleafs. I seriously like eBooks, but I love the perfume of a dusty, musty little treasure bound in aged cloth, a book that reveals who read it long before I chanced upon it on a rainy day.”

James Fitzmaurice, author of Hobgoblin Gennel

“Books have been my escape and my delight since I was a small child. They opened up new worlds and new dimensions. No one could bully me or hurt me from a book,and I had many friends in the worlds to which they took me. They also taught me that humans have many sides, and many faces. Books armed me with courage to face the world, and they have never let me down.”

Sue Woodcock, author of To Sit in Solemn Silence, Murder At The Brass Cat, and others

“My first library book was The Cat In The Hat.  I devoured a set of Hardy Boy books early on, attempting to solve the mysteries myself, or before Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot in the Agatha Christie books I read.  The film Fahrenheit 451 had a profound effect on me.  People reciting books was a precursor to books on tape or CD today.  I read Bradbury’s book, then fell in love with Kurt Vonnegut Jr. in college.  I read to entertain myself, to learn about worlds different than my own, and to take me deeper into my own experiences.”

Mitchell Goldman, author of The Next Frontier

“I love books as it allows an escape into another world, however magical or mundane, you get an insight into another perspective and life. I love the adventure of reading and the way the pages can take you to any corner of the world and beyond. Reading has always been an escape for me and allowed me to go on the greatest adventures, without even leaving my room. There is such a variety of book and allows people to experience so many different lives. It is exciting, engaging and enticing.”

Victoria Jane, author of That Summertime Feeling

“I don't love books- well, yes of course I do!- But it goes beyond love. It's an obsession. A yearning to start the next gripping adventure, a hunger to immerse myself in a world of make believe with dragons, castles, magic. A compulsion to find the next book boyfriend, the one who will never exist in the real world, but will stay with me forever. A female lead that fights her way through adversity and hardship, and I picture myself in her shoes, achieving alongside her- until the end, hopefully a happy one. Books are friends, lovers, battles, fantasies, and most importantly, a powerful tool for a lifetime of imagination.”

Tanya Rose, author of The Wave

“I love books because whether you're reading them, writing them or listening to them, they encourage a sense of calmness and escapism from our busy lives. Special books and the characters/ settings within them can educate and inspire you. I love the unknown excitement of a new book and the familiar feeling of comfort that an old book brings.”

Rebecca Tyson, author of Flamingo Flockdown

“Escapism, hope and manifestation. Those were my main reasons for reading as a child. I loved to escape reality as a child, The worst witch was one of my favourite books; I imagined myself as Mildred and used to collect crystals and dream catchers, channelling my inner witch. Hope, I always read books with a strong female in particularly where the female character was the end hero, woman don't get the credit they deserve and lastly manifestation. I manifested some of my reality from my favourite books. The secret garden was another firm favourite, growing up in a council estate we had no garden. After reading the book I envisioned owning a home called Cherry Blossom with a beautiful garden full of blooms. That is exactly what I have. Thank you, Lord, for the gift of reading.”

Alisha Walls, author of Where Shall We Go?

“Books can present and explain facts.

Books may argue for and against opinions.

Books open up and reveal emotions.

Books disclose fantasies, dreams and ambitions.

Books tell about love and passion.

Books are fantastic.

Books have no limits.”

Anders Tunek, author of A Cold Psyche and The Sisters

“Perhaps unusually for an author my love of books was a slow burn. At school I wanted to write essays, not read what others had written. By the age of 30 I had discovered various authors I liked and as my job involved more and more travelling I found myself reading a complete novel on each flight. Having taken the plunge myself and written my first novel and unlike my formative years I am now happy to write and at the same time read and enjoy others works. My series of DCI Steve Burt murder mystery novels has evolved from my love of reading crime fiction.”

John Reid, author of The Auction, The Disciples, and others

“Books are a portal to other worlds and provide a means to expand knowledge, skills and creativity.”

Alisha Shah, author of Between Dreams and Reality

Thank you to all our authors for getting involved with this post – we’re glad to hear that you love books as much as we at Pegasus Publishers do!

Happy Book Lover’s Day everyone!