As anyone with children of a certain age will already know, today is the 21st year of World Book Day, an annual celebration of everything to do with books, authors and reading. It’s a great event that raises awareness of the importance of reading, and especially promotes reading for fun for children. More than 15 million children in the UK will be receiving tokens to get a free book, while many kids will also be decked out as their favourite book characters for the day (one of the Three Little Pigs, in my son’s case).
While there’s a big focus on inspiring children to pick up a book, World Book Day is a good time to reflect on the importance of reading for adults too. Reading regularly has a huge influence on language comprehension and writing skills. Every time you read, you unconsciously absorb knowledge on structure and grammar, and boost your vocabulary, enabling you to be more imaginative with your own writing.
These skills are of course hugely important for a creative PR agency like éclat. From drafting blogs, thought leadership pieces and press releases, or journalist pitches and everyday emails, skill with words is one of the central abilities in any agency. I’ve been an avid reader since childhood, and a love of reading and writing is undoubtedly what set me on the path to becoming a journalist and then a PR content specialist.
Suitably, we’re all keen readers in the éclat office when we can find the time. I’m ploughing through Phillip Pullman’s Le Belle Sauvage, a long-awaited addition to the His Dark Materials Trilogy. Meanwhile, Barry is reading Skintown, Ciarán McMenamin’s exploration of drug-fuelled youth in ‘90s North Ireland, while Mel and Emily are both getting stuck into Gillian Flynn’s twisted thriller Gone Girl.
So, whether you’re delving into a world of fantasy, getting absorbed by a whodunnit, or reading non-fiction to boost your knowledge for work or fun, I hope everyone can find some time to put their feet up and crack open their favourite book today.