World Book Day was created by UNESCO on 23rd April 1995 as a worldwide celebration of books and reading. It is marked in over 100 countries around the globe. In an effort to move celebrations of reading into the evening and focus more on adults instead of children, World Book Night starts in the UK in 2011.

At The Reading Agency, we want to create a world where everyone is reading their way to a better life. Research shows that reading for pleasure can promote better health and wellbeing, aids in building social connections and relationships with others and is associated with a range of factors that help increase the chances of social mobility. World Book Night is about encouraging more people to become readers. By participating on 23 April, whether on your own or with others, you’ll be playing a part in contributing to our mission of coping with life’s big challenges through the proven power of reading. What are the benefits of reading for pleasure? 19% of readers say that reading stops them from feeling lonely. Higher literacy skills are associated with a range of positive societal benefits, including having a stronger sense of belonging to society and being more likely to trust others. Studies have found that reading for pleasure enhances empathy (共情), understanding of the self, and the ability to understand one’s own and others’ identities. Regular readers for pleasure reported fewer feelings of stress and depression than non-readers, and stronger feelings of relaxation from reading than from watching television or engaging with technology intensive activities. …

Four New Books to Consider Reading in 2022

Here is a sampling of non-fiction and fiction titles to consider reading in 2022.

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins

Available January 4

The New York Times best-selling novelist Rachel Hawkins scored with both lovers of thrillers and the classics last year with The Wife Upstairs, a modern retelling of Jane Eyre. This year, she’s going for the Agatha Christie fan base（or anyone who enjoyed HBO’s The White Lotus）with an island mystery involving a set of Gen Z adventure travelers. Naturally, the adventure spins out of control—and someone ends up dead in paradise.

Rise: My Story by Lindsey Vonn

Available January 11

Lindsey Vonn is the most decorated female skier of all time and one of the most celebrated female American athletes of this century. In her first memoir, Vonn shares information never before disclosed in interviews, including little-known details about her struggles with mental and physical health.

The Last Slave Ship by Ben Raines

Available January 25

Fifty years after the Atlantic slave trade was banned, the Clotilda was the last ship in history to traffic kidnapped (被绑架的) Africans to the United States. Journalist Ben Raines, who discovered the ship’s remains, tells the true story of the ship’s miserable voyage, the town founded by survivors after escaping, and the legacy (遗产) their later generations carry with them to this day.

Women Talk Money edited by Rebecca Walker

Available March 15

This book of essays, edited by famous feminist and writer Rebecca Walker, explores how money can impact women’s lives, from the power structures of their relationships to the kind of health care they can expect to receive or lack.

BOOKED UP!

Expand your horizons (视野) with our top picks from the season's new books.

Think of famous walkers and it is men like Willam Wordsworth and John Keats who likely spring to mind. But that's only half the story: here Andrews fills in the blanks with the history of women walkers of the last 300 years, including 18th-century walker Elizabeth Carter, Anais Nin, Nan Shepherd and Cheryl Strayed.

This comes with a warning: it will add many more books to your wish list. It celebrates 25 women writing about the outdoors, from historic people skilled in using words like Dorothy Wordsworth to contemporaries (当代人) like Camille T. Dungy. Devoted into their life and work, Aalto travels to the lands that they loved, trying to get walking and reading inspiration.

If you're eager for sunny islands, this book about backpacking around the Dodecanese is for you. Many of the villages on these Greek islands now lie deserted (荒芜的) and Barclay spent over four years exploring their ruins, gathering stories from the local people for this explanation.

Anyone who read W inn's first book, The Salt Path, about walking the South West Coast Path with her sick husband Moth, will want to know what happened next. This is that story — of finding home again on a Cornish farm. To follow Winn on her journey back to Cornwall is to know how it feels to walk yourself into the land which you love.