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. .Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/history-articles/reading-booksthe-popular-pastime-with-a-fascinating-history-1533258.html#ixzz0pKyutHB2 Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

How Books and Reading Make a Difference in Our Lives

Some people like to read about history, biographies of famous people, science and other non-fiction books or publications. On the other hand, others like to read fiction that takes them to a faraway place and time simply for the pleasure of it. Whether you're reading a book on quantum physics or the latest Paolo Coelho bestseller you bought from the Book of the Month Club, you probably know that reading is food for the soul. It makes our existence rich not only with new information that we gain but more importantly with the emotions that good books elicit in us and the ways that these emotions make us discover ourselves deeper than thought we could. In other words, reading is always a personal experience, whether or not the reasons were personal when we decided to pick up a book and read it.
Of course, this personal encounter we have with books is the first thing we'll yearn for unknowingly when we start reading. But did you know there are more practical uses to the activity? Reading is, in fact, very helpful in our daily lives in ways that we probably never knew before. For example, when we read a lot, our vocabulary naturally increases. When we encounter a word for the first time, we would naturally want to understand what that word is or else, we wouldn't understand completely whatever we're reading. Thus, we look up the meaning of those new words in the dictionary. Each time we do that, we widen our vocabulary.
Another thing we'll always love about reading is the way it improves our spelling. Sometimes, we pronounce words very well without even knowing how they're spelled. When you read a lot, you will see all those commonly misspelled words finally spelled correctly and you're going to learn from that so that next time you have to write those words yourself, you can do it error-free.
When you talk about the benefits of reading, you cannot skip the part where the brain is enhanced by the habit. Yes, reading regularly keeps your brain on its toes and keeps it sharp. In fact, studies show people who read as a routine activity are less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease or any brain-related disease. You can
Lastly, reading is relaxing, therefore, anyone who reads regularly can enjoy rare moments of peace and being one with oneself - a feeling that is possible only when you have a good book that you feel like skipping work over. If you're going to join a book club, you might have a harder time closing that book and getting ready for work each morning. Just the same, you can carry the book around. Just don't let it get in the way of your important tasks.

Digital Book Readers - Reading on the Go Made Simple

If you are the type of person that can devour a novel in a day, then the library is probably one of your dear friends. If you have not yet heard, there is another companion out there just waiting for the reading enthusiast to join its forces: the digital book reader. This electronic device allows you to download and read material just as you would with printed text. Since the end result is the same, you may be asking yourself, "why not stick with borrowing from the library?" E-books can save paper, ink, space and money. In addition, as with a library, there are many free books to be found!

If everyone used a digital book reader instead of reading the books, magazines, and publications on paper, just think of all of the trees that would be saved. The amount of ink wasted annually would also be severely decreased. As far as space is concerned, think about your current collection of books. Now think about the multiple works you may have borrowed from a friend, family member or library. Imagine being able to have all of the information available on a device the size of a notepad, or in some cases, even smaller. Additionally, many of the texts available for these e-readers are priced lower than a hardcover novel. Thousands of e-books are also available as a free download.

The features available on a digital book reader really depend on the model in question. Some of the features you might look for include:

· Dual Screen
Dual screen models offer the ability to use the e-reader as if it were a traditional text.

· E-ink Screen
E-ink offers increased readability without the eyestrain that some people experience when viewing traditional text on an LCD.

· Expandable Memory Option
This allows the user to store more books in the future, should they use up the current amount of memory.

· Library Checkout
Yes, you read that correctly! Some models offer you the opportunity to check books out of the library and view them right on your screen at your convenience.

· Techie Extras
More and more models are now coming standard with webcams, microphones, and even integrated wireless connectivity.

A digital book reader was the next logical step in the staircase that is technology. With the e-readers being so affordably priced, there is no doubt that most households will own at least one in the near future. There is even talk of universities considering these as an alternative to the traditional textbook.

The digital book reader also makes a terrific gift for a child, spouse or good friend. If your child does not seem interested in reading, a gift of an e-reader is sure to open up his eyes! As a side note, if you are considering this purchase for your wife who loves to read while in the tub waterproof cases now make that an option. Additionally, some publishers are opting out of the digital-rights management (DRM) agreement; this means if you purchase one for yourself and a friend, you can legally share the e-books that you purchase, thereby cutting your media costs in half!