Reading Books..The Popular Pastime With A Fascinating History

If reading books is one of your favorite things, you may find the history of books interesting. In ancient times material that was written on included clay, stone, tree bark, and metal plates. The script was continual with no spaces between words, and was written in both right to left and left to right. Sometimes just every other line was written in a different direction. In the seventh century Irish monks introduced the space between words, but it wasn't until the 12th century that this practice became popular.

About 2400 B.C., papyrus, which was thick and resembled paper, was glued together to form a scroll. The Asians were the last to give up the scroll.

As early as 80 A.D. the Christians began using a codex made from wax tablets on wood, which resulted in a portable book form, which was more compact. This writing material could be used on both sides which made this form economical, and it is believed that the Christians preferred this form since the pagan writings were in scroll form.

When the Roman Empire fell in the fifth century A.D., contact with Egypt ceased, and parchment was substituted for papyrus. Parchment had to be made ready and the book's content planned in advance, with space left blank for illustration. Monasteries had been active in copying books one at a time in gold or silver, and since a certain hour was set aside for reading, the majority of books were found in monasteries. The clergy therefore were the most prolific readers. By the ninth century even in the smaller monasteries these collections numbered 500 volumes. Thanks to the Phoenicians, papyrus was brought to Greece in the 9th century. The Greek word for a papyrus books was biblios, named after the Phoenician town Byblos, which is why today someone who is an avid reader is called a bibliofile.

In the 8th century the Arabs studied the paper industry, and were the first to produce books in paper. The pages were attached with silk, and the cover was a board covered with leather. With the advent of universities in the 13th century, there was an increased demand for books, and copyists were used to copy a number of leaves which were not bound. A scribe was known as a sofer in Jewish communities. According to tradition, the Torah used in Jewish temples could not be printed but had to be written by hand. Books printed before 1500 were known as incunabula.

It wasn't until the 1800's that printing presses powered by steam were used.

In the following years censorship laws were more lax, and the presses were gradually improved. By the middle of the 20th century, the Europeans could produce in excess of 200,000 books per year, eventually leading to the popularity of reading books today. .

Is "Reading books is useless" virus?

This year the number who apply for entering into college is increasing in some city, but compared to other cities which have the same population, the number is decreasing, it's non-ignorance that there are thousands of students who don't apply for the college among the fresh graduates.
Don't respect talents is the most sad thing of the society's, no good employment policy, excellent talents are hard to stand out, is really non-useful to read books?
Many people think that college students can't learn much in college, so it's better to work early. They may also think that while spending time studying in college, why don't go out and look for a job to make money, as well to get more experience. But a country without high quality talents won't develop. Why is it difficult to join in a famous company? As there are so many applicants, why do the companies exclaim that they can't find the appropriate persons?
Nowadays, the opinion of reading books is useless has become common in the society. Why do many people think that? I think the first reason is that the employ rate for the university graduates is decreasing. It is very difficult to find a job for the graduates. The students studied hard in the high school just in order to enter a university. And when they graduated from the university, they found that they could not hunt a job, which made them upset and disappointed. Then in my opinion the traditional education system of China is also an important reason for the opinion of reading is useless. Students can’t learn real skills in school; most of resources they got in school are the theories that made them not suit the requirement for job.
The modern society needs more cultured people, it’s very necessary to accept higher education for the students. With the development of the technology and economy, more knowledge is a great helpful to devote our country. What's more, further learning is of paramount importance that all the teenagers should have the chance to experience. During this process, not only can you accumulate a great deal of knowledge, but also learn how to learn. It is inescapable for you to learn more when you step into your work in the future. So learning experience in university or college may give you a hand.
With the development of our society, it becomes more and more important to learn more knowledge. Therefore, if you have enough knowledge, you can get a good job and live comfortably and you can obtain respectful from others. If you do not have enough knowledge or do not have knowledge, you can only do work form low level. In such a case you cannot obtain plenty income.

Books - More Than Just For Reading

Everyday each of us goes through stress. It comes in many causes, whether be from our jobs, or school, and even within our own household. It is never pleasant. Stress can come in the form of mild headaches, to severe muscle pains. It's things such as this, that requires a soothing spa, or aromatherapy to ease it away. Unfortunately we don't always have that kind of luxury. Fortunately there are stress relievers within our home. It's in our bookshelves, our boxes. Heck sometimes they're under our beds collecting dust! They're called books.

Did you know by curling up with a good book, you can reduce stress? It's because whenever you read books, you become enveloped into the plot, no longer thinking about everyday strains that causes us those stresses. However there are some books that can add onto the strain. Tragedy, and sometimes non-fictional books can cause this, because it doesn't lift our mood. Instead we feel what the characters, or plots in the story in those kinds of books. That doesn't help things at all.

Fictional books can reduce stress greatly, especially when it's a comedy, or a fantasy genre. You become deep within those stories as if you're apart of it. You laugh at the funny scenes in the story, or gasp when a plot twister gets thrown at you. In result of all this, your heavy burdens slowly shake off of you. Inspirational books are another source of mood raisers. When you hear about something positive, and touching, you become happy, and your heart is lifted. Isn't it neat that one of the most obvious things in our house can be used as a healing therapy?

Next time you're feeling down in the dumps, grab yourself a book, curl up in your favorite spot, and read away. Why receive expensive aroma therapies, and spas, when you have the benefits of reading-therapy!

Books - Penny-Wise Tips Provide Good Reading

The days of gluttonous consumerism are gone. No more lavish spending or uneconomical, wasteful purchases!

People are watching their money, given the high cost of living. One way to get smart about how to be thrifty is by reading books that give tips and tricks on how to save money.

The selection of books on this topic is vast. You can find a book to tell you how to shop, cook, eat, dress, and decorate frugally. In fact, by reading a selection of these books, you can establish a totally simple living lifestyle.

If your budget is tight, you can find a wide selection of books on the topic of frugal living at a library. Checking online sites for bargain books is also a possible way to gain information on establishing a frugal lifestyle.

One popular method of frugality is the concept of growing your own food. There are books that will help you design a garden of any size. If all you have is a small outdoor space, a deck, or patio you can easily find information on raised bed or container gardening. In addition to books that help you cut your budget by growing your own food, there are books that instruct you on preserving the food you grow.

Cheap living books on the topic of shopping are plentiful. You can find books that help you design a budget. Others teach you the art of successfully making coupon clipping work for you. There are books that provide tips on ways to reduce expenses such as how to save on your power bill by better insulating your home. They also help you access your insurance cost and provide information on the best time of year to make certain purchases.

As part of the prudent living trend, words such as recycle, re-purpose, reuse, and reinvent have gain popularity. There are many books to help you frugally decorate your home by finding new ways to use items that you already have rather than spending money for something new.

Not only are there reference texts to advise you on growing your own food and on ways to trim your grocery bill, there are cookbooks to help you prepare meals on a shoestring budget. Some of these books revive depression era recipes while others offer a frugal solution to modern day family favorites.

With minimal research you can find frugal living volumes on a variety of topics. You can discover new ways to engage the entire family in an overall frugal living lifestyle. Frugal living doesn't focus on deprivation. Its focus is on self sufficiency, budget reduction, awareness, and finding new and creative ways to enjoy a lifestyle to its fullest in the least expensive manner. One of the least expensive avocations a person can have is to enjoy the reading of these and similar nonfiction books.

The Importance Of Reading

It is a well-known fact that when there were no televisions or computers, reading was a primary leisure activity. People would spend hours reading books and travel to lands far away-in their minds. The only tragedy is that, with time, people have lost their skill and passion to read. There are many other exciting and thrilling options available, aside from books. And that is a shame because reading offers a productive approach to improving vocabulary and word power. It is advisable to indulge in at least half an hour of reading a day to keep abreast of the various styles of writing and new vocabulary.
It is observed that children and teenagers who love reading have comparatively higher IQs. They are more creative and do better in school and college. It is recommended that parents to inculcate the importance of reading to their children in the early years. Reading is said to significantly help in developing vocabulary, and reading aloud helps to build a strong emotional bond between parents and children. The children who start reading from an early age are observed to have good language skills, and they grasp the variances in phonics much better.
Reading helps in mental development and is known to stimulate the muscles of the eyes. Reading is an activity that involves greater levels of concentration and adds to the conversational skills of the reader. It is an indulgence that enhances the knowledge acquired, consistently. The habit of reading also helps readers to decipher new words and phrases that they come across in everyday conversations. The habit can become a healthy addiction and adds to the information available on various topics. It helps us to stay in-touch with contemporary writers as well as those from the days of yore and makes us sensitive to global issues.
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