What Is a Book?
The book is a medium for conveying recorded information, both written and graphical, through an organized arrangement of pages. It is distinguished from other media such as newspapers, magazines, and films in that it typically consists of a number of pages fastened or bound together and protected by cover. Modern books are usually printed on paper stock, while older formats included scrolls and tablets. The word book is related to the Old English boc (beech) and Sanskrit pustikaa, both of which refer to bark used for writing.A book may contain text that is written in a single author's hand or that is an edited compilation of texts such as the Iliad, Odyssey, Bible and Quran. It can also be a collection of articles on a single subject such as an encyclopedia. The word can also refer to an electronic publication that is available in a wide variety of formats.All kinds of people read and use books. Various reactions to books are based on personal taste and values, as well as the cultural context in which a book is used. These include emotional, aesthetic, spiritual, sexual and pathological. Books are also a key element of education and the foundation for many scientific and technological advances.Books can be of any genre, but fiction is probably the most popular. The Harry Potter series, Twilight, Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons and The Kite Runner are just a few examples of famous fiction books. Nonfiction is another popular type of book, with a wide range of subjects covered by the likes of cookbooks, textbooks, and travel guides.When a book is published it will have a table of contents and an index to help readers locate information quickly. The book may have a preface or introduction to ease the reader into the main idea of the book, and most of them will have a chapter title page that lists the chapters of the book in a logical order. Some books also have an epilogue that provides a conclusion or supplemental form of closure for the reader.The history of the book is an academic discipline that combines elements of textual scholarship, codicology, bibliography, palaeography, art history and social history. Its aim is to explore the relationship between book form and the signs that it conveys. The study of the history of the book can inform us as we consider how and why our own valorizations of books change over time.A book is typically printed on paper, but ancient manuscripts, papyri and codices can also be studied. The history of the book can reveal much about the social and cultural context in which a text was produced, stored and interpreted.The history of books can also be a source of ideas for research in other areas, such as the history of reading, and the development of the printing press and related technologies. It can also contribute to understanding the evolution of literary forms, and how a change in one part of the production process can affect the whole of book culture.