It’s Not Too Early to Start Preparing to
Celebrate BookSunday 2025
Simply search for the perfect book for someone you care about. Then give it to them as a gift on March 9, 2025. And you’ve moved us one book closer to our goal:
One Million BookSunday Books by 2030
Thanks to all of you who stopped by our booth at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. Seeing so many people was especially nice since this was our inaugural
LIVE KICK-OFF EVENT!
(pictured below l-r volunteer Frank Simons, Executive Director Kevin Cochran and Board Member Eric Johanson)
Join the Movement for BookSunday – the New Holiday Where All the Gifts are Books!
The goal is simple – More Books in More Hands to Create More Readers!
We accomplish this, with your help, by making the Second Sunday of March into an annual holiday where you give books to people you care about. And just like Christmas or Valentine’s Day, some people will give one book and some will give a dozen. The important thing is more books get put into more hands!
We know that creating a new holiday is possible.
While it may seem overwhelming to create a new holiday, it’s important to remember that even holidays that seem to have been around forever were often started by one person. So it’s not crazy at all for you to join the movement to create a new holiday celebrating books. If you don’t, who will?!
Remember, Mother’s Day was brought into existence through the efforts of one person – Ann Jarvis. Giving Tuesday was the brainchild of Henry Timms and has become a worldwide phenomenon in less than 10 years. Kwanzaa was devised in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, a professor at CalState Long Beach and is now celebrated by 12.5 million people each year.
One Million BookSunday Books by 2030!
And we need your help to make sure BookSunday is celebrated nationwide! Make sure you plan to celebrate the next BookSunday Holiday on March 9, 2025. All you have to do is reach out and give someone you care about the gift of discovery, imagination and wonder! Give someone a book! Then you’ve moved us one book closer to our goal of One Million BookSunday Books by 2030!
Want to Help Today? Here are Two Things You Can Do Right Now!
And if you need any convincing on the necessity of BookSunday, take a look at these statistics – beginning with this one from the National Endowment for the Arts: 57% of American adults did NOT read a single novel, short story, poem or play last year!
7
minutes
Time spent reading for pleasure by average 20-34 year old per day
US Dept. of Labor
16
minutes
Time spent reading for pleasure by average American adult per day
US Dept. of Labor
304
minutes
Time spent watching TV by average American adult per day
Nielson Company
42
percent
College students who will NOT read a single book after graduation
Huffpost/YouGov
80
percent
American families who did NOT buy a single book last year.
Huffpost/YouGov
The Origin of BookSunday
In the 1950’s, George and Mary Jane Cochran created a new holiday for their family ― BookSunday. They knew that a book could never compete as an exciting gift against the latest toy or gadget. So rather than letting books be tossed aside like a package of socks, they invented a holiday where all the gifts were books. Now their son is working to get people across the country to celebrate this special holiday.
“Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.”
Maya Angelou
Take Action Now!
Reading Books Reduces
Stress Levels by 68%!
According to a study at the University of Sussex, people only needed to read, silently, for six minutes to slow down their heart rate and ease tension in their muscles. Listening to music reduced levels by 61%; a cup of tea by 54%; taking a walk by 42%; and playing video games by 21%. But reading was the champ reducing stress levels by 68%!
“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirates’ loot on Treasure Island and best of all, you can enjoy these riches every day of your life.”
―Walt Disney