23 April is a symbolic date for world literature. It was a natural choice for UNESCO's General Conference, held in Paris in 1995, to pay a world-wide tribute to books and authors on this date, encouraging everyone, and in particular young people, to discover the pleasure of reading and gain a renewed respect for the irreplaceable contributions of those, who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity. With this in mind, UNESCO created the World Book and Copyright Day.

4月23日世界读书日全称“世界图书与版权日”，又称 “世界图书日”。最初的创意来自国际出版商协会。1995年11月15日正式确定每年4月23日为“世界图书与版权日”。其设立目的是推动更多人去阅读和写作，希望所有人都能尊重和感谢为人类文明做出过巨大贡献的文学、文化、科学、思想大师们，保护知识产权。

James Joyce's “Ulysses” is widely considered to be both a literary masterpiece and one of the hardest works of literature to read. It inspires such devotion that once a year, thousands of people all over the world dress up like the characters, take to the streets, and read the book aloud. So what is it about this novel that inspires so many people? Sam Slote uncovers the allure of this epic tome.

詹姆斯·乔伊斯（James Joyce）的《尤利西斯》（Ulysses）被广泛认为既是文学杰作，也是最难阅读的文学作品之一。 它激发了这种奉献精神，每年一次，全世界成千上万的人们打扮得像角色，走上街头，大声朗读这本书。 那么，这本小说激发了很多人呢？ 山姆·斯洛特（Sam Slote）揭示了这部史诗巨著的魅力。