A reader's paradise...

I haven't got that much time to write. But luckily I do have one nice thing to post about. Today, April 23th, San Jordi's Day is celebrated here in Catalonia. Catalonia is the region of Spain where Barcelona is located. And, in my modest opinion, this local festivity must be one of the nicest thing one could ever see.

Why is it so nice? Well, basically because San Jordi is a celebration halfway through between Lover's day and Book's day. And what does this mean? It means that today all the streets of Barcelona (ALMOST EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM!!!!) will be filled with stands for the sale of books and for the sales of roses. The tradition being that men will receive a book from the women who love them and that the women will receive a rose from the guys they love... Yeah, yeah, I can hear a lot ladies out there crying out what a shitty thing (the man gets the book, the woman just a rose, puff!!), but bear in mind that I said "tradition", this meaning the original concept, something that time has luckily taken to more modern stages, transforming San Jordi in a day where books and roses come and go from hand to hand, without really mattering who is a boy or who is a girl (or not even if you are in love with anyone).

To my knowledge, I have no reference of any other place where International Book Day is celebrated like this. Imagine a whole city of 3 million inhabitants completely taken by books and roses stands, with people happily and quietly strolling around them, beneath a superb mediterranean blue sky, in the search for their old time favorite books, new material or, most probably, something special they want to surprise someone with. It's truly a MUST SEE. And it's not even an official holiday (but people just walk out from their jobs and take a couple of hours to enjoy the wonder of all this).

It's not the day to take your car and go visit your friends. As the streets will be crowded to the extreme by legions and legions of enthusiastic lovers and readers.

Not a single bookstore or publishing company (Barcelona is the main publishing place for the spanish reading market in the whole world) will miss this celebration. Of course, they will be the ones supporting most of the stands. But what it most interesting to readers, they will make sure they can get a signature from their favorite authors, visiting one of the hundreds of book signing sessions that are held during the day almost in every corner of the city...

I'm off from work now and I'll get a chance to see how the city wakes up with the stands getting ready to face this beautiful day. It's gonna be nice walking home this morning. And I wish all of you were here to see it.

Happy Saint Jordi to all of you, readers and lovers, throughout the world.

:)