A little reason to celebrate
Drop Everything and Read Day
Hobby · Family · April 12
Drop Everything and Read Day, also called D.E.A.R. Day, asks people of all ages to set aside what they are doing and spend time with a book.
Drop Everything and Read Day falls on Monday, April 12, 2027. That is 167 days away.
The idea fits in the name. You stop what you are doing, pick up something to read, and read it. Also known as D.E.A.R. Day, it is often marked by families, classrooms and libraries, where everyone pauses at once and the room goes quiet.
That shared pause is the appealing part. Reading is usually a solo habit fitted into spare minutes, on a bus or before sleep. Here it becomes something a household or a whole school does together, with a parent on the couch, a kid on the floor and a grandparent in the good chair, each in a different book.
Any reading counts. A novel, a comic, a cookbook, a field guide to birds, the back of a cereal box if that is what is within reach. Some families read aloud, passing a picture book around so younger children can follow along. Others agree on a set stretch of time, twenty minutes or an hour, and put phones in another room.
The dropping is often harder than the reading. Dishes, email and laundry have a way of announcing themselves the moment a book opens. Choosing a spot away from chores helps, and so does having the book chosen ahead of time, so the first minutes go to reading rather than browsing the shelf.
A library card makes it easy to try something new without much commitment. If the first chapter does not hold you, the next book is already on the shelf.
Ways to celebrate
- Set a timer and read with everyone in your household at once.
- Read a picture book aloud to a child or grandparent.
- Visit your local library and borrow something outside your usual genre.
- Leave a favorite book with a friend along with a short note.
- Put your phone in another room for twenty minutes of reading.
Dates
| Year | Date |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Sunday, April 12 |
| 2027 | Monday, April 12 |
| 2028 | Wednesday, April 12 |
| 2029 | Thursday, April 12 |
| 2030 | Friday, April 12 |
Also on April 12
Categories: Hobby daysFamily days