Here's how to celebrate World Book Day 2018

If in 2018 you’ve let every modern technology you can get your hands on get in the way of just picking up a good old book, you’re not alone.

Nowadays it’s rare to see people reading on the bus or sitting in a park leafing through the pages of a classic novel. Kindles, iPhones and the likes have all but killed them off.

If you miss the smell of a new book or physically seeing how far through you’re getting, there’s never been a better week to get back to basics. Thursday 1st March marks World Book Day 2018 and here’s how you can celebrate:

Pass the last good book you read onto someone

Sometimes you want to just hold on to that book you’ve already read because it reminds you of a particularly good summer holiday or helped you through a tough time but there really is nothing nicer than passing on a book to a friend. Not only is it a lovely gesture, it gives the story life beyond just sitting in a pile by your nightstand.

Dress up as your favourite character

Seriously, it’s not just for school children. Organise a dress-up day at work where everyone has to come as their favourite childhood character from a book and ask everyone to donate £2 to a chosen charity. You’re sure to see those intimidating bosses in a new light once they’re sat at their desks as The Very Hungry Caterpillar or The BFG.

Start a book club and host the first one on World Book Day

It was probably on your New Year’s Resolution list but if you still haven’t got round to creating a book club, now’s your chance.

Select a group of friends or gather people you don’t yet know that well but would like to get to know and suggest meeting once a month to discuss all the fiction and non-fiction you like. It's sociable, it's stimulating and it's an incentive to actually find time to read.

Send an email out to the people you love asking them to recommend you one book and why

Finding out why someone particularly enjoyed or related to a book can reveal a lot about them. Fire out a group email asking for recommendations and not only will you now have a curated list of certified good books to get through, you'll probably have enough to save for a summer holiday reading list before its even spring.

And if you’re truly not a reader at all, pick to watch a film that was adapted from a novel

No, not just Harry Potter. There are no end of other films that started out as books.

From classics like Sense and Sensibility and Doctor Zhivago to dramas such as The Godfather and chick flicks like Bridget Jones and The Devil Wears Prada - it’s certainly not the conventional way to mark World Book Day but no judgement here.