World Book Day 2025 

Do you enjoy a good read? I do. I admit to honing in on anything relating to railways, model or full size. Despite TV and the internet, books remain popular as ever. Many sell in millions; some even in billions! According to worldometers* there are just under 8.2 billion people living in the world. Now that is a lot of people! For a book to sell in billions, now that is a lot of book! So what is it?

By a huge margin, it is The Bible - over five billion^+x copies world-wide. No other book comes anywhere near. The Bible has consistently topped the charts! Why? What is so amazing that one book that has been around for centuries keeps being published, sold .. and read?

It took a long time to write – over 16 centuries by over 40 men, mostly uneducated. It was the first mass-produced book in the world (Gutenberg Bible). It has been translated into over 3000 languages so that 95% of the world can read it in their own language. A lot of people in history have tried to do away with it. People have lost their lives over it, but it is still around.

So .. there must be something in it. There must be something that people want - to continue to buy it, lend it, give it away in such numbers every year. Mindfulness is an oft-used word these days. The way we think and what we think about can affect how we feel and act. As a Christian, I read the Bible because I wish to know more about the love of God. It has an added bonus. I find sitting quietly each day reading a short passage from it helps centre me. I will often write a brief line in a journal as a result and ponder about it during the day.

On this World Book Day I urge you to start reading a book, any book, but perhaps to open a Bible mindfully ..

The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own.
They may not necessarily reflect those of The Methodist Church
or Trentham Methodist Church or Hubb.church.
Please take what you liked and leave the rest.
*worldometers.info
+alltopeverything.com
XGuinness Book of Records, 2025