Do you like to read? Do you enjoy holding a good book in your hands? Then you will be interested to know some interesting facts about books.
The title of the most unusual book is worthy of the work of Dante Alighieri “The Divine Comedy”. The poem impressed the monk Gabriel Chelani so much that he managed to fit 14 thousand verses on a piece of paper 80×60 cm. Upon closer examination, you can easily read all the words. But a little moving away, the text canvas becomes a complete picture of Italy. In general, the monk spent 4 years of his life.
Leonardo da Vinci’s Leicester Codex treatise is one of the most expensive books. The text of the work can only be read with a mirror, since Leonardo used a mirror font. Today the Book belongs to Bill Gates. I had to pay 24 million dollars for it. The most expensive book in the world is the Apocalypse by Joseph Fauré. Its estimated value is 100 million old francs.
The works of William Shakespeare have always aroused controversy and genuine interest among literary critics. After analyzing all the texts, they discovered that the word “love” was used 2259 times, and “hate” was mentioned only 229 times.
The Bible is the most read book in the world. In second place is Mao Zedong’s Quote Book. Third place – trilogy “The Lord of the Rings” by John Tolkien.
In the Middle Ages, public libraries looked different than we are used to seeing them today. So in Europe, all copies of books were chained to bookshelves. The chain was long enough to take a book and read it at the table. Such measures were taken to prevent the theft of books until the 18th century.
Not only criminals were imprisoned within the walls of the Bastille. This was not the luck of the Encyclopedia compiled by Diderot and d’Alembert. The conclusion was given to her as a punishment for the detrimental effect on society and morality in general, as well as for the harm to religion.
Who reads a lot – he lives longer
Reading is not only one of the favorite activities of most people, but also a powerful mechanism in the fight for longevity. American scientists have proved the fact that people who regularly read fiction prolong their lives.
In order to prove the theory of the benefits of reading in practice, experts from Yale University devoted many years to studying this phenomenon. The experiment involved 3,500 volunteers over 50 years old from around the world. All participants were divided into 3 groups:
Group I – people who read regularly and a lot – more than three and a half hours a week.
Group II – moderate readers. The average time spent reading per week was less than 3 hours.
Group III – non-readers.
Conclusions
After lengthy research, scientists made the following conclusions – lovers of reading live longer by 2 years than fans of relaxing in front of the TV. At the same time, readers mainly chose works of fiction.
It was also revealed that reading newspapers and magazines does not have such an effect.
Scientists have yet to figure out the very mechanism of the miraculous effect of reading fiction on life expectancy. In the meantime, read more books, expand your horizons for the benefit of physical and emotional health.
Classical or modern literature?
What to choose for reading – works of classical literature or modern prose? Most people answer without hesitation – that you need to read the classics – the depth and eternal relevance of topics, beautiful literary speech, nobility in the presentation of the story and, of course, the didactic component, which is important when parents choose literature for children.
But this opinion is wrong. Let’s analyze how the creative heritage of modernity differs from the classics.
Classical literature has a lot of undeniable merits. The most important thing, perhaps, is that it teaches us many things. That is why at school students study the best examples of world classics. It helps the young mind to understand what is good and evil, how to properly prioritize life. In classical works, teenagers take on such necessary life experiences that they themselves have not yet had time to experience. It is from the classics that a person receives an awareness of such important constants as honor, conscience, love …
Now let’s take an adult independent average person. We do not take into account people for whom spiritual food is more important than daily food. Most of us come home from work/school exhausted and tired and immerse ourselves in household chores. In this state, hardly anyone wants to pass the free hours or minutes before going to bed reading complex moral and philosophical novels. What do we choose? Modern Literature. It is she who helps to escape from pressing problems and plunge into the world of adventures and bright events. Modern literature is a kind of window through which we can get into an imaginary world where we can experience fantastic adventures with our favorite characters.
You can often hear literary critics complain that most modern authors write “everyday reading” that is not destined to become classics in subsequent centuries. But these allegations are unfounded. Any competent author focuses on the needs of the reader. And the reader in our time wants to rest while reading, and not go into himself, digesting moral dilemmas.
Outcome. Both classical and modern literature are necessary and useful for the reader. Just when choosing books, determine for yourself what you want to get from reading – entertainment and relaxation or reflection and aesthetic pleasure.
How reading can help your health
A group of scientists from Scotland recently conducted an experiment. Its essence was to prove or disprove the beneficial effects of reading on the overall health of a person. To implement the task, the researchers selected people suffering from depression. In total, about 2500 people took part in the experiment. They were divided into two groups. The participants of the first tried to get rid of the obsessive ailment with medication, but the second half – by reading a variety of books.
After 4 months of therapy, the first results of the study were obtained: participants who underwent treatment with antidepressants were cured by 40 percent, while book readers were only 25 percent.
But the most interesting thing happened after one year after the experiment. The researchers re-examined the participants. And the results surprised everyone. It turned out that the participants of the second group, those who were treated with the help of books, were better able to maintain positive changes. In the first, the depressive state either completely returned after stopping the medication, or periodically reminded of itself.
The positive impact of books is displayed not only on the mental state of a person. The influence of reading on mental abilities is already well known.
The following has been proven:
Reading is a great exercise for the brain. It helps to increase the number of neural connections, which leads to higher mental performance and memory development.
People who read are less stressed than people who like to spend a free hour in front of the TV. In addition, statistics show that reading causes the need for mobility. In other words, people who read are more likely to exercise and play sports.
Healthy sound sleep without nightmares. Reading in soft light is a good way to combat insomnia and has a positive effect on the quality of sleep itself.
Reading prevents Alzheimer’s disease. As everyone knows, this disease is not curable and for many people becomes a sentence. But by regularly training your mind with reading, you can prevent the rapid development of the disease.
During periods of increased emotional stress, reading is a great way to unload thoughts, get distracted and avoid nervous exhaustion.
Read books, expand your own horizons with health benefits.