Book Lovers Day celebrates the printed page—something that has fast become a rarity in some households. With the computer age and the dawn of electronic books (eBooks) print books aren’t purchased nearly as frequently, with some households having very few on hand.

Book Lovers Day is a day to laud the printed page and to make sure it continues for generations to come. A life without books is a sad life indeed. Celebrating them on their special day—August 9th—shows non-physical book owners they just might be missing out on something very special.

 

Grab a Book It's Book Lovers Day

 

Book Lovers Day — How to Clean Them

On Book Lovers Day, avid readers will likely pay homage to both hardcover and softcover books. They might even treat their library of books to a special housecleaning. How do you clean books without destroying their covers? The answer to that is, “very carefully.” Cleaning books is different, dependent upon the cover of each one. A softcover book may be wiped clean with a soft cloth or a dry cleaning pad. These pads are readily available at most art supply stores and even at some craft stores.

Hardcover books with dust jackets should be cleaned in the same manner. The dust jacket’s purpose is to preserve the hardcover book, but they get dirty, too. Hardcover books without dust jackets may be dusted off in the same way unless they are glossy covers. These glossy covers may be cleaned with some glass or window cleaner. Spraying the cleaner directly onto a cleaning cloth is advised. It’s important to never spray the cleaner directly onto the hardcover book.

 

The Inside Pages

Housecleaning regarding the insides of books is another job entirely. And while you’re not actually “cleaning,” you are ridding the book’s pages of dust mites and other organisms that can grow between their pages. A piece of white bread is perfect for dusting off each individual page of a book. While this is definitely a time-consuming facet of housecleaning, it will brush away anything that might later eat holes in the pages.

Pages of both hardcover and softcover books may be “cleaned” by turning each page carefully and removing any pencil or pen markings with a white vinyl eraser. These are available in both art supply and craft stores.

 

And the Musty Odor

Removing odor from books requires considerable effort, but is relatively easy to do. Each book with musty or malodorous pages may be placed inside a sealed plastic bag with baking soda dumped into the bottom. A day or two inside the bag should result in considerably less or no odor, as the baking soda will absorb it. When choosing this method, it is best to dust the jacket or book cover after removing the odor.

 

Book Lovers Day — Other Ways to Celebrate

Surely there are other—and way more fun—ways to celebrate Book Lovers Day than simply performing the housecleaning task of removing marks, dust, and odors from your beloved books. In fact, some ways of celebrating Book Lovers Day are actually quite fun.

Adults can reread a childhood favorite—and maybe even share it with a child. Did you have one or two very special books you loved to read while growing up? Check out used booksellers online and order a copy, then plan to read it again on Book Lovers Day.

Visiting the library is another great way to celebrate. Finding a few books you’ve been dying to read and stopping in the children’s section to see if any of your favorites are still on the shelves are great ways to pay homage to books.

You might consider giving the gift of reading by buying someone special to you a new or used book. A gardening friend might enjoy an out of print edition of a gardening how-to book. Maybe your best girlfriend might love the latest juicy novel by her favorite author. Your son or daughter—or perhaps your grandchild—might love a new picture book that the two of you can read together.

Are your books all packed away in cardboard boxes? Aiming to do them justice on Book Lovers Day is a great way to celebrate. Unpacking them and displaying them on a new bookcase will reunite you and your long lost friends.

You will love How to Properly Clean Books. As Easy as 1,2,3.

 

Book Lovers Day—Protect the Future of Printed Books

Some people feel that with the age of computers and eBooks, that printed books may one day cease to be published. While this is unlikely, Book Lovers Day is the perfect time to do your part in helping that not to happen.

Donate a book or two to your local library. Make a purchase in a bookstore for yourself or for someone else as a gift. As long as there is a demand, publishers will continue printing books. Doing your part to fuel the demand might be the best way of celebrating this special day.

If you don’t have money to spend on new books, you might consider donating some of your old ones to your local library, schools, or even a nursing home. There’s nothing better than spreading a love of reading on Book Lovers Day.

Are you among those who still loves the feel of a book in your hands when you read? There’s something very exciting about cracking open a brand new book and both feeling and smelling those crisp, new pages. Sure, eBooks have their place at times. They’re convenient and they don’t cost the earth any trees. Sometimes there’s nothing quite like the original, however. This seems to really ring true when it comes to books.

Try learning How to Organize a Bookshelf.