For bookworms, there’s nothing like cuddling up with a good book and a cup of hot cocoa (or a glass of wine). And that’s because books are a uniquely portable magic and who doesnt want a little magic in their lives. Since we share the love of books, I thought that we must look at books a little further, in particular, fun and fascinating facts about books.
So read on and be amazed.
1. The book, Arsène Houssaye’s “Des destinées de l’ame” (On the Destiny of the Soul) is bound in the skin of a female mental patient who died of a stroke at the Harvard University Library.
2. There is an actual word for loving the smell of old books, it’s called Bibliosmia.
3. The longest sentence to ever be printed in literature is from belongs to Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. This book has a sentence which is 823 words long.
4. 1 out of 5 people in the world cannot read or write.
5. Costing an enormous $15,000, the smallest book made is Teeny Ted from Turnip Town by Malcolm Douglas Chaplin. You will need a scanning electron microscope to read a copy.
6. 68% of books sold worldwide are bought by women.
7. Did you know, the fear of running out of something to read is called Abibliophobia.
8. Buying books and not reading them is also a thing. Japanese have a word for it, it is called Tsundoku.
9. Up to 50 books can be made from 1 tree.
10. Old copies of pulped Mills and Boon novels were used to build part of the M6 toll road in Birmingam, UK. They were used in the top layer of the motorway.
11. 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.
12. The Holy Bible, Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung and Harry Potter are the 3 most read books in the world.
13. A study found that you are 2 ½ times less likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in later life if you read regularly.
14. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, were typed by J.R.R. Tolkien with just two fingers.
15. In North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, a record was made for the most people balancing books on their heads. 998 people balanced books on their head on 13 November 2012.
16. The first book ever written using a typewriter was The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.
17. If you publish a book in Norway, the government will buy 1000 copies (1,500 if it is a children’s book) and distribute them to libraries throughout the country.
18. There exists an Icelandic tradition called Jólabókaflóð in which books are exchanged as Christmas Eve presents and the rest of the night is spent reading them and eating chocolate.
19. Stephen King originally tossed his manuscript for Carrie while living in a trailer home with his wife, claiming that it was a “loser”. His wife, Tabitha, upon finding it in the garbage and reading it, convinced him to finish it and send it in. It’s the novel that made him famous.
20. The most commonly used sentence in the Harry Potter book series was: “Nothing happened.”; for The Hunger Games series it was: “My name is Katniss Everdeen.”, and for the Twilight series, it was: “I sighed.
Which of these facts about books impressed or intrigued you? Any other fun facts about books you’d like to share with us?
30 Responses
Wonderful post!!!
Wow these are indeed some fascinating facts.
wow Shilpa, didn’t know about Bibliosmia. Buying books and not reading them is often seemed as an habit but again a good information that there is a term for it.
I laughed at the ‘i sighed’ for twilight. These are some very interesting facts. It’s good to be an author from Norway I suppose. And is the fact about Alzheimer’s true? That would be quite a motivation to read.
Fascinating facts!
Interesting information.
Really enjoyed reading these facts. Although I love to read but didn’t know about these
Very fascinating.
Interesting compilation Shilpa!
What a fun post. I think Jólabókaflóð should be practised by all. What do you think.
Bibliosmia is my thing. Fun post. 🙂 Great to connect at this A-Z. All the best.
That first fact made me go “ewwww!”. Didn’t know that Harry Potter is part of the most read books but I’m glad it is!
Impressive!!! Thanks for giving a word- to smell of old books
And point 8- reminds me- there is saying which goes ” Buying Books & Reading Books -are 2 entirely different hobbies”
Wow! What amazing facts! I enjoyed knowing about them.
Thanks for this beautiful, well-researched post.
Oh wow… love the facts… Women do read more 🙂 And I do have Bibliosmia :))
I think Tsundoku must be more prevalent than thought of.
Lots of amazing facts indeed.
These are interesting facts, Shilpa. The first one had me wincing. Why would anyone do that?
It was wonderful reading these fun facts. Especially, this word for the fear of running out of something to read.
Those are pretty interesting facts. Although, I wish why anyone would use human skin for binding! I definitely suffer from Tsundoku! I also have Bibliosmia.
Best post of the series so far, hands down, so loved and amazed at the facts buddy
Great pointers dear. In fact, pointer number 14 makes me wonder why did he do that?
Fascinating facts indeed! 🙂
And the first point made me cringe.
These are some wonderful facts about the book some are outright funny. Thanks for sharing, Shilpa.
Wow amazing info Shipa..I love all the points, especially 68% of book are bought by women..this is something very interesting for me, to know.
Wow, these fun facts are awesome. I didn’t knew I have Bibliosmia and glad that I’m part of 68% book lovers. Thanks for this Amazing share and well researched post.
Such a great read, we had no idea about the Mills and Boon being used on the M6, a motorway we used to drive on often
Interesting facts.
No 10 Mills and boons, Barbara cart land & Dennis robins if i can remember was very popular during my college days, and we used to borrow and circulate among friends., I learnt a new word from you Biblisomia. I am happy and surprised to hear that 68 percent of the books sold were bought by women.. more power to women… no doubt we have so many women bloggers:) thanks for sharing
I didn’t know most of these facts, wow!