Books are more than just pages and ink. Do you agree? I personally think they are the gateway to knowledge and to imagination. They transport us in different worlds and allow us to live more than hundrends of lives with every book we read. Below I want to share with you 10 interesting facts about book.
1. The world’s largest library
The world’s largest library is located in Washington DC and it is the Library of Congress. Initially founded in 1800 when the national government moved from Philadelphia to Washington DC, the Library now consists of three buildings which are connected by underground passageways.
2. The longest novel ever written
Remembrance of Things Past’ was written by French author Marcel Proust. Maybe you know it as “In Search of Lost Time”? The novel consists of seven volumes compiling of more than 9 million characters (letters and spaces included). Can you imagine that? Proust describes his own life and the society he lived in, portraying himself as someone searching for the meaning and purpose of his own life. Through his novel, the author tries to encourage everyone to appreciate life while they have it.
3. The most expensive book ever sold
This was the “Codex Leicester” by Leonard de Vinci, which Bill Gates bought it in 1994 for more than $30 million. It was initially purchased in the 1700s by the Earl of Leicester, this is where the book gets its name from. In 1980 it was sold to an art collector from which Bill Gates decided to buy it from.
4. Bookworm concept
Nowadays, we use this word for somebody that is really into books and spends all his time reading. However, the name comes from an actual insect which has the power to damage books. Initially, the word was used to insult someone, but nowadays it is not an insult anymore, it just refers to people who love reading.
5. The most sold book
Did you know that the Bible is still the most sold book there is in the world? It is sold in more than 5 billion printed copies, and probably this number won’t be stopping soon.
6. The largest collection in the world
According to Guinness World Records, the largest private owned collection in the world consists of 1.5 million books. Wow! They are owned by John Q. Benham who lives in Indiana in the USA. Where does he fit all of them?
7. The fear of running out of books to read
Yes, this is something for real. People who are afraid of running out of books to read suffer from abibliophobia. So, how many TBR books do you have in our bookshelf?
8. The longest sentence to ever be printed in literature
It is said this belongs to Victor Hugo and he wrote it in “Les Miserables”. It consists of more than 800 words. Now, that’s a sentence!
9. Love the smell of books?
Do you also love the smell of books, especially the old ones? Then you must you are not alone and there is even a name for it. It is called bibliosmia and it describes the enjoyment of smelling old books.
10. The tiniest book
If you think of the tiniest books in the world you must for sure think of something that is at least couple of miliemters big. Well, that’s not entirely true. The tiniest book in the world is the Teeny Ted and it measures 100x70 micrometers. That is 1000 times smaller than 1 milimeter. Can you imagine using a microscope to read it?
How many facts did you know? Let me know in the comments below. What other interesting facts about books do you know?