Posted on 08/09/2024 7:40:24 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Books are the purest form of escapism. They can take you to any time, place, or culture. In honor of National Book Lovers Day August 9, we put away our smartphones, pull out a good book and simply read. (Well, an audiobook will suffice too.) From clay tablets to today’s eBooks, literature has played a crucial role in preserving cultures, educating the masses, and storytelling. Thanks to Johannes Gutenberg’s 15th-century printing press, anyone, not just royalty, monks or landed gentry, could read and own books. But, alas, there was no overnight shipping. Today, join a book club or re-read a favorite novel because National Book Lovers Day rocks!
History of National Book Lovers Day
Book Lovers Day appreciates the medium that has withstood and preserved its importance in time — literature. Our love for books knows no bounds — someday we’ll write a book on it.
The modern book is made by binding paper, but before the invention of paper, books came in the form of tablets, scrolls, and engravings. Every civilization had its own way to document events. Some time in 3500 B.C., the Mesopotamians would make markings on clay tablets using a pointed device, made from the stem of the reed plant, called the calamus. These writings on the moist clay were called ‘cuneiform.’ Approximately 20,000 of these tablets were discovered in modern-day Iraq.
Paper was invented in China in the 1st century A.D. By experimenting with various materials such as hemp, fishnets, and the mulberry plant, Ts’ai Lun invented the first paper. With time, printing on woodblocks also became the go-to way of reproducing books in China. The ancient scrolls dating back to the 4th century B.C. are considered the first ‘books,’ but by today’s definition, the oldest surviving compiled book is “The Diamond Sutra” which was published in China on May 11, 868.
Hardback books ruled the market at the start of the 20th century, with a certain prestige associated with the hard bindings of books. But from 1937 onwards, paperbacks rose in popularity, paving the way for digests, pulp fiction, and pocket-friendly books.
Advancement in computers and technology led to the digitization of books, with the first book sold in CD format in the 1980s, “The New Grolier Electronic Encyclopedia.”
We LOVE all the ‘Reacher’ books! And, FWIW, Tom Cruise is NOT Jack Reacher!
‘The Killing Floor’ just blew me away and I had to read all of the books about Reacher then, for sure. Hadn’t felt that way about a character since I discovered Dave Robicheaux in James Lee Burke’s books.
I’ll check out the Joe Ledger books, thanks!
Just downloaded a bunch of Zane Gray and Louis L’Amour books from the public library for my Kindle e-book. Light easy reading that should keep me occupied in my downtimes for a while. Except for reference books for preparing my Bible studies, I’m loathe to buy physical books anymore. I don’t have the space.
Gangland by Howard Blum (the Gotti takedown)
Gombatta by Cummings/Volkman
Catherine the Queen by Mary M. Luke (Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's first wife)
Little Gloria, Happy at Last by Barbara Goldsmith (Gloria Vanderbilt family history/custody trial) - fascinating read.
Thanks DiW. I was reading a book about ancient Greek Thebes, but I managed to lose track of it, probably in the car under a pile of mail or something. When I cleared out my old car prior to junking it, I found a great big bio of Bismarck that technically I'm reading but had lost under, well, a pile of mail. I like to have my current book in my car for when I'm waiting somewhere (restaurant, doctor's office, other app'ts). I don't read enough.
Ulysses! I knew it would be on the list. It’s on all the lists. I’ve never made it past page ten. No one I know has ever actually finished it. Pure torture is what it is.
Does FR count?
I’ve been an avid book reader ever since I learned to read-I’ve read the kid’s books on the list, the science fiction and risque books also-but the rest didn’t appeal...
I like Scott Turow’s books-”Presumed Innocent” is a fav-also shared a liking of Joseph Wambaugh’s books with MrT5. I just finished Thomas Sowell’s “Social Justice Fallacies”-not fiction, but thought provoking-and am about to begin “Bad Dirt” a collection of stories by Annie Proulx that I got from Amazon because it looks like an entertaining read...
Currently, I’m reading “Gulag,” by Anne Applebaum (purchased at Heathrow in 2004), “Ivan’s War,” by Catherine Merridale and “The 900 Days, [The Siege of Leningrad]” by Harrison E Salisbury. The middle one is the only one I’ve never read.
I’m getting ready to give them all to my FD and her hubby so I can make room in my bookshelves for new models!
I’ve read about a third of the ones on that list. I never had a desire to read some of them.
:^)
I read Patterson when he first began writing, and still love his Alex Cross novels. Once he began to use "co-authors" I lost interest. Until "Eruption," with Michael Chrichton. When I saw that his widow was holding the manuscript for the right writer.... I'll get to it soon! We'll see how Patterson does for the late author.
Professor of Economics Thomas Sowell is a sane libertarian/conservative from California who just happens to be black-his books are about economics and how that works-and what doesn’t work, like social justice and communism. Well worth reading-as are the books of Justice Clarence Thomas-especially his most recent-his autobiography written with Michael Pack and Mark Paoletta. Sensible people come from all ethnic groups, just like overrated ones do...
I’m female but not into those rape and lace romance novels, or most books geared only towards women-I like Bernard Cornwell’s novels-good swashbucklers/adventure-mostly correct on the historical facts/people, does not give any group an excuse for bad behavior like brutality, etc-and definitely not written for the romance lovers. If a book does not grab attention or incite curiosity, it probably is not worth reading...
What am I reading?
“The Anarchist Cookbook.”
Also U. S. Army FM 13.
Why do you ask?
5.56mm
“Does FR count?”
Absolutely! :)
‘The Thomas Sowell Reader’ is on my nightstand. Highly recommended. :)
I LOVED me some Field Manuals back in the day! I also hold some sort of INSANE record for doing a ridiculous amount of correspondence courses (forgot what they’re called) through the Army.
I had two additional MOSs thanks to those courses.
Primary was Admin, then Supply, then Field Cook; I LOVE to cook for a crowd to this day. :)
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