The Power of Books
“Books are the food of the soul.
Good and wholesome food given to a hungry body will nourish it but if the food is poisonous, it will be injurious to the system.
The same happens with reading. If people read good and instructive books at regular and proper times, it will strengthen and nourish them greatly.”
By St. Anthony Mary Claret
(Spanish Catholic Archbishop, social reformer, writer, and publisher)
Excerpt from The Autobiography of St. Anthony Mary Claret written in 1862
Can you recall the joy of holding a new book before the start of a journey? The delight in sniffing the smell of it and penning down the details of the travel on the first page along with your signature and the date of purchase is priceless. When was the last time you visited a library and felt nostalgic when you inhaled the familiar smell of books? If you love the smell of books and are excited to be amidst books, then definitely you must have been a book-lover at some point in your life. For a book-lover, the smell of books is more enticing than the aroma of freshly baked cookies wafting from a bakery. Bibliophile (biblio~ + philo~ = book + friend), a word for book-lover waded through the English language in 1820 and describes those people who love to read, collect, gift, and receive books. For them, books are the most prized possessions. An ardent reader somehow manages to find time and place for reading and feels uncomfortable without books.
Unfortunately, it is a vanishing tribe these days!
In today’s fast-paced world, reading as a habit is gradually declining. By reading, I am not referring to the reading of tabloids, gossip columns, online news, social media messages, or any such frivolous kind of content that is readily available on our phones, tablets, and newspapers. Here reading as a hobby implies reading quality content beyond one’s occupation or course, mainly for relaxation, knowledge, and language enhancement and/or motivation. These days, people find it easier to watch documentaries on YouTube, listen to podcasts, or read the summaries of books on topics piquing their interest. But many find it difficult to read a book daily. It requires patience and time to read a book of say 400 pages. Though many people have the will to read, stresses of life, social obligations, and general distractions of too many activities in their lives have caused disconnection with books.
Importance of reading
Reading good books helps us gain knowledge, enhance vocabulary, provide more insights into different cultures, and develop admiration for them. It leads to the all-round development of the brain and personality and makes us better people. According to a paper titled, “What Reading Does for the Mind” by Anne E. Cunningham and Keith E. Stanovich (published in 1998), frequent reading typically results in positive cognitive consequences. Reading habit boosts our imagination and creativity and is a stress buster. A study at the University of Sussex in 2009 found that reading can reduce stress by up to 68%. It works better and faster than other relaxation methods.
Books are known to be a man’s best friend. When there is nobody around to give us company, books help to beat the loneliness blues. During the long Covid pandemic lockdowns, when people had to sever physical ties with the outside world, many people found comfort in books and e-books. For many, it was a great opportunity to explore different genres. People were reading more during the pandemic as they had more free time and zero social obligations.
Good reading habit of people results in creating a literate society which has far-reaching positive effects on the development of society as a whole. There is an urgent need to develop reading habits among people in society.
World Book Day
To promote the culture of reading books, every year April 23rd is observed as World Book Day in more than 100 countries across the globe. The date was decided by UNESCO in 1995 to mark the death anniversaries of three great men of literature. They were William Shakespeare (the legendary English writer, dramatist, and poet), Miguel de Cervantes (the Spanish writer), and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (the Spanish writer and Chronicler). Two of them departed on the same day and year i.e. 23 April 1616 and Miguel de Cervantes a day earlier i.e. 22 April 1616. UNESCO wants to make people aware that books are a force to address contemporary challenges, understand political and economic realities, and combat inequalities and misinformation.
World Book Capital
Every year on World Book Day, UNESCO along with the advisory committee from the major sectors of the book industry selects the World Book Capital for one year and it is only once that each city gets this chance. World Book Capital is responsible for carrying out activities related to promoting books, publishing, and reading throughout that year.
Madrid was the first city to be declared the World Book Capital in 2001. The Mexican city of Guadalajara was the 2022 capital and now Accra, a city in Ghana will take the mantle of the World Book Capital on 23 April 2023. In 2003, New Delhi had the privilege of being the World Book Capital and several programs were designed then that emphasized promoting literary habits among children.
History of Books
The form of books has changed with time in terms of material used – clay tablets to parchment to ebooks; format- scrolls to codex; printing – inscriptions to keyboard. Printed physical books as we see now did not exist till the 1st century AD. The first step to making books was the development of scriptwriting. The earliest we know is that in Mesopotamian civilization, the written records were documented on clay tablets in around 3500 BC. It had records of legal contracts, literature, and myths.
In around 3000 BC in Egypt, the pulp of papyrus, a reed widely available in marshes of the Nile was used to make sheets. Books made from papyrus were made in the form of scrolls by pasting sheets one after the other. Scrolls could be rolled horizontally and were 30 feet long on average. These were used for sacred writings, tax registries, legal documentation, etc.
(Pic. Credit: Shutterstock)
In the first century BC, writing on bones, shells, wood, and silk was prevalent in China. The paper was invented around the 1st century AD in China. Before printing was invented, all written documents had to be handwritten on parchment in Europe; papyrus in Egypt and Mesopotamia; birch bark in Russia, and palm leaf in India. Manuscripts were decorated with gold and silver, hence only the rich could afford to possess such luxury. Between the 6th and 9th century AD, the printing of books started in China, and woodblock printing was used for producing text. It was a very cumbersome way of printing. Diamond Sutra is considered to be the oldest printed book in China, printed with carved wooden blocks in 868 AD during the Tang dynasty. It contains Buddhist sutras and has pages bound together in the form of a book.
Paper spread from China via the Islamic world to Europe by the 14th century, and by the late 15th century had largely replaced parchment for many purposes. In Germany, around 1440, goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable-type printing press, which started the Printing Revolution. Gutenberg’s printing press was considered a history-changing invention, making books widely accessible and ushering in an “information revolution.” The printing press helped in reducing the cost of printing. This helped in spreading education among the masses and paved the way for the first cheap printed paperbacks in 1860 AD. By the 20th century, hard-bound books began to gain popularity.
With the invention of commercial computers in the 1970s, the process of bookmaking like editing and designing became much easier and faster. As computers became sophisticated, the digitization of books started taking place.
In today’s world, we need not depend on physical libraries which are inaccessible to people living in remote areas. We can now access a vast library of e-books on our mobiles and tablets from the remotest areas. Contemporary books and e-books are very user-friendly with features like voice and Braille, especially for the disabled. Also these days, books can be translated into different languages across the globe maintaining the essence of the local language. Thus, books’ reach out is much higher these days.
Role of women in reading
Good reading habits should be inculcated by everyone. Since our generation is part of a knowledge-based economy, it is important to foster a culture of reading, especially among the young. Women have an important role to play in encouraging children to read voraciously. Reading encourages us to understand different perspectives and makes us more compassionate. When children and women will read a lot, we hope to build a compassionate world. Also, reading empowers and emboldens women to pursue a new career, or perhaps go back to school to try and earn a new qualification.
–Nivedita Chitnis, a writer and editor from India, works as a corporate HR Generalist and has contributed to co-authoring books as well as writing for Indian newspapers
