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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Book (disambiguation).
The Gutenberg Bible, one of the first books to be printed using the printing press
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A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images. Modern
books are typically in codex format, composed of many pages that are bound together
and protected by a cover; they were preceded by several earlier formats, including the
scroll and the tablet. The book publishing process is the series of steps involved in their
creation and dissemination.
As a conceptual object, a book refers to a written work of substantial length, which may
be distributed either physically or digitally as an electronic book (ebook). These works
can be broadly classified into fiction (containing invented content, often narratives) and
non-fiction (containing content intended as factual truth). A physical book may not
contain such a work: for example, it may contain only drawings, engravings,
photographs, puzzles, or removable content like paper dolls. It may also be left empty
for personal use, as in the case of account books, appointment books, autograph books,
notebooks, diaries and sketchbooks.
Books are sold at both regular stores and specialized bookstores, as well as online for
delivery, and can be borrowed from libraries. The reception of books has led to a
number of social consequences, including censorship.
The modern book industry has seen several major changes due to new technologies,
including ebooks and audiobooks (recordings of books being read aloud). Awareness of
the needs of print-disabled people has led to a rise in formats designed for greater
accessibility, such as braille printing and large-print editions. Google Books estimated in
2010 that approximately 130 million total unique books had been published.
Etymology
The word book comes from the Old English bōc, which in turn likely comes from the
Germanic root *bōk-, cognate to "beech". In Slavic languages like Russian, Bulgarian,
Macedonian буква bukva—"letter" is cognate with "beech". In Russian, Serbian and
Macedonian, the word букварь (bukvar') or буквар (bukvar) refers to a primary school
textbook that helps young children master the techniques of reading and writing. It is
thus conjectured that the earliest Indo-European writings may have been carved on
beech wood.
An avid reader or collector of books is a bibliophile, or colloquially a "bookworm".