Random fascinating facts about books

For readers there is nothing better than a good book and a cup of tea or coffee. Books allows the reader to step into a magical world and thus provides them with the required solitude and escapism.

Who doesn’t like to read facts?? By reading facts we gain much more insights about the topic or thing. Surprisingly, there are tons of random facts about books that are super fascinating.

In this post I have tried to compile such fascinating facts about books. I hope you’ll find lots of fun facts that will make you fall in love with books all over again.

There is an actual word for loving the smell of old books, it’s called Bibliosmia. Interesting, isn’t it?

The longest sentence ever printed is 823 words. This sentence exists in Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables.

Image Source: Goodreads

Former American President Theodore Roosevelt read at least one book per day.

Dan Brown finds hanging upside down the ultimate cure for writer’s block.

Image Source: Goodreads

Do you also have a habit like me of buying books and not reading them. Japanese have a word for it: Tsundoku. It means “to allow books to pile up and never read them”.

The Holy Bible, Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung, and Harry Potter these are the three most read books in the world.

The most expensive book in the world is Codex Leicester by Leonardo Da Vinci. It was purchased by Bill Gates for 30.8 million dollars

Mark Twain’s, Adventure of Tom Sawyer is said to be the first novel written on a typewriter.

Dr Seuss, in his book titled “If I Ran the Zoo”, first used the word nerd.

The world’s smallest book is Teeny Ted from Turnip Town.

This post is a part of A-Z challenge by Blogchatter

Quotes about Books and Reading

We are currently living in mad times. Stress, tension, anxiety have surrounded us from all the corners. It is often found that even with the best of efforts, these things cannot be avoided. Hence, to handle the pressure we all tend to find out different innovative ways.

Inspiration plays a very important role in our path to success. But sometimes, some circumstances might make us demotivated. In such situations, Quotes have an amazing ability to motivate us, to keep us focused, so that our mind does not indulge in negative thoughts. Quotes have an amazing ability to transform our perception of ourselves.  A quote can act as an aide memoire to focus us towards a specific goal or plan of action.

This short collection of quotes features quotes about books and reading some of them are all-time exemplars you may know, as well as some lesser-known ones you’ll love too.

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero

“If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.” – Oscar Wilde

“One must always be careful of books,” said Tessa, “and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us.” – Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Angel

“… a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.” – George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“Only the very weak-minded refuse to be influenced by literature and poetry.” – Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Angel

“Many people, myself among them, feel better at the mere sight of a book.” – Jane Smiley, Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel

“In a good bookroom you feel in some mysterious way that you are absorbing the wisdom contained in all the books through your skin, without even opening them.” – Mark Twain

“That’s the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet.” – Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake

“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” – Frederick Douglass

“There is no friend as loyal as a book.” – Ernest Hemingway

This post is a part of A-Z challenge by Blogchatter

Percy Jackson & the Olympians | One of the best mythological fiction

This post is extremely special for me as it revolves around the book series that has my heart. Percy Jackson & the Olympians. The books revolve around Percy Jackson who discovers that he is a demigod, son of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea. He embarks on various quests with Annabeth and Grover for the fulfilment of Greek Prophecies and to save the mortal world from the vile and dangerous monsters.

In this post, I will pen down a few points that make the series really really special.

Characters: The characters in the series are absolutely amazing. One cannot just not root for them. Each and every character is very well developed throughout the series. Percy Jackson is easy to relate with, no matter the age of the reader. He is extremely brave, sarcastic, adventurous and a loyal friend. Annabeth is one of the strongest female characters in the book. She along with Grover has a huge contribution in the adventures of Percy. Annabeth is the daughter of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and an aspiring architect. Annabeth is as much relatable and likeable as Percy. Grover, the satyr as I have mentioned earlier has a huge deal of contribution in the success of the dangerous adventures. There are many more characters such as brave Thalia, fearless Nico and Bianca di Angelo, Clarisse, Rachel Dare, etc.

Setting: Percy Jackson is based on a fictional world “Camp Half-Blood” as well as the real world. Camp Half Blood is the refugee for all demigods. In Camp Half Blood, the demigods train to become warriors and fight monsters and wars. Camp Half Blood is protected in such a way that only demigods would be allowed to enter into its premises.

Mythology: The books bring mythology alive. Rick Riordan has very flawlessly covered many mythological facts throughout the series such the story of Medusa, River Styx, the underworld, etc.

Brave female characters: This book series is full of strong and fearless female characters. Annabeth, the daughter of goddess Athena is one of the most strongest and brave characters in the series. Bianca di Angelo is the fearless young girl who did not even think twice before risking her life to save Percy. There are many more strong and brave characters such as Thalia, the daughter of god Zeus, and Clarisse, the daughter of god Ares. There are two strong female characters from the mortal world – Percy’s mom Sally and Rachel Dare. Sally works extremely hard to protect her son. She also marries Gabe to protect her son as Gabe’s smell protects Percy from the monsters. Rachel is clear sighted which means that she can see through the Mist and see things for what they really are. Rachel helps Percy multiple times during his quests.

Readers will get to know new things each and every time they will re-read the books: When you first read the series, you will find yourself reading fast to finally arrive at the conclusion to find out the outcome of the adventures. But when you re-read the books, you will be surprised to find many facts and references which you might have missed while reading the books for the first time.

Do you also love these books as I do? Which is your favourite books in this series?

This post is a part of A-Z challenge by Blogchatter