Interesting facts about books and reading
"A book is a garden, an orchard, a storehouse, a party, a company by the way, a counselor, a multitude of counselors." – Charles Baudelaire
From imparting knowledge to increasing our worldview to making us feel understood-- reading books has numerous benefits. Here we list down some weirdly fascinating facts about books and reading for you. Share these with your book-lover friends!
The largest book in the world measures 16.40 feet x 26.44 feet
According to the Guinness World Records, the largest book in the world is 'This the Prophet Mohamed' which was made by over 50 people. The book measures 16.40 feet x 26.44 feet, weighs roughly 1500 kg and it has 429 pages. It was unveiled by Mshahed International Group in Dubai on February 27, 2012.
The word 'Library' has Latin origin
The word 'Library' is derived from the Latin word 'Liber' which means “book”. Meanwhile, according to Britannica.com the 'Latinized Greek word, bibliotheca, is the origin of the word for library in German, Russian, and the Romance languages'.
The longest title of a book contains 3777 words
The world record of having the longest title of a book was achieved by Vityala Yethindra for his book 'The Historical Development of the Heart…' which was released on March 20, 2019, according to the Guinness World Records. The book title consists of 26,021 characters. Many of you would wonder what makes the title this long. The answer: Yethindra has enlisted various species and questions which are mentioned in the book as a part of the title!
There's a word for the fear of running out of reading material!
Abibliophobia (noun) is the fear of running out of things to read, according to Macmillan Dictionary.
The oldest operating bookshop in the world is in Lisbon, Portugal
A Portuguese bookshop named Bertrand Chiado which was established in 1732 is considered to be the oldest bookshop in the world, as per the Guinness World Records.
Alice's character from 'Alice in Wonderland' is based on a real little girl
Yes, you read that right! The famous character Alice from 'Alice in Wonderland' is based on a real 10-year-old girl named Alice Liddell. Her family was close friends with Lewis Carroll; infact, Alice's father Henry Liddell was Carroll's boss.
The longest novel ever written is by Marcel Proust
Marcel Proust's 13-volume book 'A la recherche du temps perdu' (transalted to 'Remembrance of Things Past') is the longest novel ever written in the world, as per the Guinness World Records. Proust wrote the book in 1912 and it contains roughly 9,609,000 characters including space.
Former President of the US Theodore Roosevelt read at least one book per day!
The 26th President of the United States of America, Theodore Roosevelt was a well-read man. So much so that according to Theodore Roosevelt's Libraries, Roosevelt on an average read one book a day even when he was the President! 'He usually read several books at a time, rotating between them depending on his activities and/or his mood. Roosevelt read widely in genres ranging from classic and contemporary fiction & poetry to ancient philosophy, military histories and natural history studies,' reads a statement on their official website.
There's a word to describe people who always carry a book with them!
Scottish poet and novelist Sir Walter Scott coined the word 'Book-bosomed', which first appeared in his 1805 poem 'The Lay of the Last Minstrel'. The word is used to describe a person who always carries a book with them.
The oldest novel in the world was written in the first century AD
Chariton's 'Chaireas & Callirhoe', subtitled 'Love Story in Syracuse' was written in the first century AD and it is considered to be the oldest novel in the world, according to the Guinness World Records. As per Guinness World Records' official website, Apuleius's 'The Golden Ass' or 'Metamorphoses' written in AD123 is 'the only Latin novel which still survives in whole'.
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