It's one of those non-binding, unofficial, head-scratching "holidays"--like National Burrito Day!!--National Light Bulb Day!!--National Elastic Band Day!!--where the Ken and Barbie dolls on Good Morning America or your local news will fill up thirty seconds of airtime chatting about it with light, pleasant laughter and 20,000 watt smiles that have gone heavy on the Crest White Strips lately.
"It's National Book Lovers Day!" one anchor will say to the other at the news desk. "It's in honor of all those who cherish a good book, and readers are encouraged to cozy up with their favorite today and enjoy!"
Then there's a little back-and-forth between the anchors for ten seconds before they hand it off to the meteorologist with awkward, idle chit-chat about favorite books before a fifteen minute forecast ensues that explicitly details it'll be 82 degrees and sunny for the next week.
The point of all this?
Not only is the "holiday" only a holiday in name only, no one has any idea how it came about. Reputable news organizations don't reference any source, while websites devoted to keeping track of such days of the year say:
"While the day’s origins may be shrouded in mystery and rumor, the books themselves are not..."
Or this:
"Within our research, we were unable to find the creator or origin of National Book Lovers Day..."
In essence, anyone could lay claim to this with a reasonable story conjured up. Grow a spine and tell the world your grandpa or grandma were book distributors and created the holiday in 1887 in rural Iowa. Make it a family affair. There's no reason not to strive for such familial honor. People have claimed worse things in life after all, like creating polyester or Arby's.
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