World Book Day is observed annually on April 23 with an intention to promote reading.

The day was officially designated in 1995 by UNESCO to give "an opportunity to recognize the power of books to change our lives for the better and to support books and those who produce them."

The city of Tbilisi in Georgia was selected as the World Book Capital for 2021.

Here are some inspirational quotes, taken from Good Reads and E Book Friendly, about books and reading:

1. "Our favorite book is always the book that speaks most directly to us at a particular stage in our lives. And our lives change. We have other favorites that give us what we most need at that particular time. But we never lose the old favorites. They're always with us. We just sort of accumulate them." — Lloyd Alexander, author

2. "Books are the plane and the train and the road. They are the destination and the journey. They are home." — Anna Quindlen, author

3. "There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all." — Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, former first lady

4. "Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him." — Maya Angelou, poet

5. "If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking." — Haruki Murakami, Japanese writer.

6. "A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone if it is to keep its edge." — George R.R. Martin, author

7. "Books are a uniquely portable magic." — Stephen King, author

8. "A book is the only place in which you can examine a fragile thought without breaking it." — Edward P. Morgan, journalist

9. "Books say: She did this because. Life says: She did this. Books are where things are explained to you; life is where things aren't. I'm not surprised some people prefer books." — Julian Barnes, writer

10. "I cannot live without books." — Thomas Jefferson, former president

Customers browse books for sale at Eso Won Books in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California -- the Black-owned small business limits the number of customers in the store
Customers browse books for sale at Eso Won Books in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California -- the Black-owned small business limits the number of customers in the store AFP / Patrick T. Fallon