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25 Things That Would Happen If Book Lovers Ruled the World
What would the world look like if book lovers were in charge? We asked you on Facebook and Twitter, and after reading your answers, we're ready to live in that world today. Check out the top responses—we think you'll want to live there, too.
1. "Every rainy day would be Stay Home and Read a Book Day." (A J MacDonald Jr)
2. "We would measure life by chapters, not minutes. Example: I'll be there after a cup of coffee and two chapters." (Rebecca Brewster)
3. "There would be a library on every corner…In other words, a library inside every Starbucks." (Renee Bradshaw)
4. "We would get a free ebook version when buying a hardcover or paperback book." (Tammy Hennig)
5. "Reality television would be replaced by story hour(s), and the grammar police would be real." (Team Linda Gray)
6. "Libraries and public schools would be properly funded." (Darcy Marwick)
7. "Book release days would be national holidays!" (Melissa Fetterman)
8. "You'd get a book, not money, under your pillow from the Tooth Fairy." (CruzMissile)
9. "Book groups would replace political parties." (Book Discussion Scheme)
10. "There would be a book hour in addition to a lunch hour at work every day." (Cindy Bell)
11. "Libraries would never have missing or misplaced volumes." (Katherine May)
12. "Everyone—no matter their gender, nationality, level of poverty, etc.—would be able to learn to read and have access to reading materials." (Bobbi Harman)
13. "Tea sales would skyrocket." (Alena Dolph)
14. "There would be a special lane on walking tracks just for readers." (Misbah Ahmad)
15. "We'd be too busy reading for wars." (Amanda Todd Sexton)
16. "Libraries would be open 24 hours a day." (Chelsea Renee)
17. "There would be more support for English courses and degree programs." (Grace Exner)
18. "The number of television channels would drop drastically." (Toufiq Rahman)
19. "Reading would be an actual job! Paid to read!" (Akshay Kumar Bajpai)
20. "A tree would be planted for every book published." (Becky Engstrom)
21. "We would have a peaceful and quiet world—apart from occasional squeals of delight, horror, long sighs, whimpers, etc." (Chloe Lewis)
22. "This would be a valid excuse to get the day off: I was up late finishing my book." (Joshua Dilts)
23. "There would be less ignorance and more tolerance." (Alicia Aleman)
24. "Hogwarts would be a real school, Middle-earth would be our world history, and everything would be Wonderland nonsense." (Aja Vinet)
25. "Bookstores would have shopping carts." (Julia Andersen)
What do you think would be different about a world run by book lovers? Tell us in the comments!
Comments Showing 101-150 of 329 (329 new)
message 101:
by
Bella
(new)
Sep 30, 2015 12:30AM
i would love to live in a world like that *thumbs up* (would totally agree to #4)
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People would be awaiting the release of a new book like they do for movies...
Traci wrote: "For number 13, I'm not much of a tea drinker. I think tea should be replaced with wine. Then it would be a perfect world! :)"Tea, Coffee, Wine, Beer, Spirits...it's all good. Booklovers come in many flavors!
Fhina wrote: "Traci wrote: "For number 13, I'm not much of a tea drinker. I think tea should be replaced with wine. Then it would be a perfect world! :)"And Irish Coffee :D"
and irish whiskey :D
Every day would be Dress As A Book Character For Work day and nobody'd mind.
Laura wrote: "Women's jeans pockets would be big enough to hold a paperback."GENIUS! love it!
Laura wrote: "No more tired arms: there would finally be a device that holds your book above your face while you are lying down reading. And it doesn't look ugly."YEEEEES!!! how overdue is that device? I've been imagining it since i was 8. I'm 43 and it still aint here!
Sahil wrote: "Like Health and Car insurance, we would also have a book insurance."Yes! And it's not just for losing or damaging your book. You can claim the minute you decide you really can't stomach another page of some dreary less-than-stellar. FABULOUS!
A huge flock of storks, that beak-deliver secondhand books all over the globe for us, FREE POSTAGE. Noice. Finally, I can send my read books to your good home on the other side of earth, in an affordable, easy way!
Cleo wrote: "#14 FTW!!! I'd love to be able to walk and read--safely. And other readers in the 'reading lane' would understand if I bumped them by accident."AAAND, they would know not to stop you and try to chat. They'd just let you keep on reading, as they themselves would do.
You pre-order what books you'd like to read during your holiday, and they'd be prepared for you at your holiday destination. Rather than lugging 8 kilos of books around the globe, now you just checkin to your hotel, where your books have been delivered and are waiting for you.
You could request an author to re-write an ending, change a chapter, write a different sequel, put back the characters she killed off. (Bit like a daytime soapie?).
Sounds like a perfect world! "Bring your book to work day" should also be added.
Fanfiction writing would be a School subject! :)
Cheers to number 25! Though there are baskets available in many book stores like Paramount Book Festival spread over two floors.
It would be illegal not to be able to read (with caveats around disability). If a primary school was sending children to secondary school unable to read (currently a consistent percentage) there would be severe penalties. 5 million adults in the UK lack proper literacy skills, 1 in 5 children go on to secondary school without proper reading skills. It would be a massive advantage and everyone would be much happier if books were compulsory.
A dangerous one: 19. "Reading would be an actual job! Paid to read!" (Akshay Kumar Bajpai)Why? For example, you'll get your typical capitalistic and statistical reasoning about how you don't read fast enough, or enough, tout court. And how you'd better improve your statistics to be as good as person x or y, or to be worth the money you're paid. Ergo, more stress instead of less stress; more absenteeism, more illnesses, etc...
25. "Bookstores would have shopping carts." (Julia Andersen)
Please, no! Don't turn book stores into shopping malls. Independent book stores are wonderful places, better than chain stores.
I like 3 and 12. Especially 12!I dislike 17. There are books in other languages, too, you know!
Anni wrote: "I dislike 17. There are books in other languages, too, you know!"True.
3. "There would be a library on every corner…In other words, a library inside every Starbucks." (Renee Bradshaw)
6. "Libraries and public schools would be properly funded." (Darcy Marwick)
23. "There would be less ignorance and more tolerance." (Alicia Aleman)
Who would be behind all this to make the funding and other decisions? Someone mentioned it would be "utopia", but there are still several holes in the suggestions. Ergo, a world inspired by We (by Zamjatin), Utopia (by Thomas More), 1984 (by George Orwell), and alike is easy then.
16. "Libraries would be open 24 hours a day."You read my mind. If supermarkets and pharmacies can do that, why not libraries?
15. "We'd be too busy reading for wars." (Amanda Todd Sexton)24. "Hogwarts would be a real school, Middle-earth would be our world history, and everything would be Wonderland nonsense." (Aja Vinet)
Yes, please. Dream come true.
24 is my absolute favourite! Where do I have to sign for this?! *-*
I've been saying Number 4 for forever now!!! I'm glad somebody understands
I totally love this list!! But, especially #'s 1, 2, 19, and 24...
As a diehard HP fan my favorite have to be 24. *sigh* I still believe the owl that should have delivered my letter was attacked, and there for my Hogwarts letter never got to me :(
Number 15,21 and 23 are my favorites. It would be great that when we read more books, a lot of fights, wars and discussions can be prevented. We would pay more attention to the book and so we would be less in conflict with each other.
Erma wrote: "Aura wrote: "I would totally vote for number 5."Love the first half, but not such a fan of the grammar police. I mean, colloquial is sometimes a good thing... (like when I'm talking with my young..."
Agree, but in some cases grammar police is ok! I don't know the situation with english-speaking, but with young italian-speaking it's really horrible. There are so many guys that doesn't know how to speak properly, even if their life depends on it!
(Sorry for my grammar, but I'm not so good at writing in foreign languages)
I think we should be paid in books not money. Libraries would be the new banks!
All dwellings would contain a book nook.Every person who needed it would have a reading teacher / literacy coach!
Traci wrote: "For number 13, I'm not much of a tea drinker. I think tea should be replaced with wine. Then it would be a perfect world! :)"or coffee...
I love this! As a retired teacher and a children's librarian, my fave has to be number 6! It would solve lots and lots of problems.
There would be small libraries in a long distance trains, buses and planes so you could enjoy your trip even more.
#22! Yes please!!!! Can't name the days I have struggled to get up! :)
Erma wrote: Love the first half, but not such a fan of the grammar police.
Hear, hear! Grammatical prescriptivism is snobbery at best and outright bigotry at worst.
Hear, hear! Grammatical prescriptivism is snobbery at best and outright bigotry at worst.
Kelli wrote: "Why don't book stores have shopping carts?? They really should."Agreed. I have literally stopped shopping for books because I couldn't carry any more, If I had a place to store more books, I'd get more. They're losing sales from me! ;P
Please, #19. That's all I've ever wanted - just let me get paid to read! Why...I'd be positively Trump-esque (minus the orange hair).
