Portal:Books
The Books Portal
A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images. Books are typically composed of many pages, bound together and protected by a cover. Modern bound books were preceded by many other written mediums, such as the codex and the scroll. The book publishing process is the series of steps involved in their creation and dissemination.
As a conceptual object, a book typically refers to a written work of substantial length, which may be distributed either physically or in digital forms like ebooks. These works are broadly classified into fiction (containing imaginary content) and non-fiction (containing content representing truths). Many smaller categories exist within these, such as children's literature meant to match the reading level and interests of children, or reference works that gather collections of non-fiction. Books are traded at both regular stores and specialized bookstores, and people can borrow them from libraries. The reception of books has led to a number of social consequences, including censorship.
A physical book does not need to contain written works: for example, it may contain only drawings, engravings, photographs, puzzles, or removable content like paper dolls. Physical books may be left empty to be used for writing or drawing, such as account books, appointment books, autograph books, notebooks, diaries and sketchbooks.
The contemporary book industry has seen several major changes due to new technologies. In some markets, the sale of printed books has decreased due to the increased use of eBooks. However, printed books still largely outsell eBooks, and many people have a preference for print. The 21st century has also seen a rapid rise in the popularity of audiobooks, which are recordings of books being read aloud. Additionally, awareness of the needs of people who can't access print media due to limitations like visual impairment has led to a rise in formats designed for greater accessibility, such as braille printing or formats supporting text-to-voice. Google Books estimated that as of 2010, approximately 130,000,000 unique books had been published. (Full article...)
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Credit: Eadfrith of Lindisfarne
More Did you know (auto generated)
- ... that Liz Truss's rise to power went from "astonishing" to "explosive" a day before she resigned as prime minister?
- ... that Brazilian student Bruno Borges disappeared, leaving fourteen handwritten encrypted books and a statue over two metres (6.6 ft) tall in his bedroom?
- ... that the book series The Serrano Legacy by Elizabeth Moon features protagonists who are daughters or aunts?
- ... that the book Our Hindu Rashtra claims that India is a de facto Hindu-majoritarian state?
- ... that zoologist Ruth Crosby Noble's 1945 book on animal behavior was said to have the "rare quality of combining entertainment with sound scientific value"?
- ... that Faith Cabin Library at Seneca Junior College in South Carolina is also called the "Oberlin Unit" because of the donations of books by the students of Oberlin College in Ohio?
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“ | The love of learning, the sequestered nooks,
And all the sweet serenity of books. |
” |
— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow |
Did you know
- ...that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows sold more than 11 million copies in the first twenty-four hours following its release?(Pictured)
- ...that Guinness World Records is the best-selling copyrighted series of all-time?
- ... that the c. 8th-century medical text Al-Risalah al-Dhahabiah, attributed to Ali al-Ridha, is also known as the "Golden Treatise"?
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Web resources
- Bookbinding and the Conservation of books, A Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology, 1982 by Matt T. Roberts and Don Etherington
- IOBA glossary of book terms
- Project Gutenberg - Free e-Books
- Words at Large: The best in books from CBC.ca
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