22- The Book- a Person Friend
If you ask people about their favourite leisure time activity, the answer you will get quite often is reading books. People have always like books. Even before the printing press was invented and most people were illiterate, they loved looking at manuscripts (hand-written books) At that time being able to read was considered a unique achievement. After Guttemberg made printing books available to almost everyone, people fell in love with books. Each year, millions of books are written, sold, read and even presented as gift on occasions such as birthday and Christmas.
Books accompany people everywhere we read them while travelling, to school/work waiting for a consultation with our GP, during breaks at school, on holiday. We just can not imagine our lives without books. Reading gives people a lot of pleasure. There are books that give a chance tob learn about the world around you. Others books give a lot of information and advice. And, of course, there are those entertaining books which are amusing to read because they are about other people‘s experience. Those who are keenon reading can choose from a wide varienty of book.
Literature can be divided into 2 categories: non-fiction and fiction books. Non-fiction books are usually for information. There are textbooks (educational books containing information and ideas about some subject), dictionaries(book that tell us the meanings of words), encyclopaedias( large books or a set of books containing facts about different subject in alphabetical order), biographies, autobiographies and memories, self-help books, travel/history/art book and, finally, cookery books.
Fiction is about imaginary people or events. There are two types of fiction books: poetry and prose. People who are keen on poetry can read poems by famous poets in book of poetry. Those who prefer prose can choose to read tales, short tales, novellas, romances, crime/spy novels, mysteries, sci-fi, westerns, thillers or historical novels.
A story in a book can be set in a real or imaginary place/ time in which the characters live. The plot (the series of events which form the story of a novel) can be narrated by the author or by one of the characters. Talented writers are excellent storytellers, able to attract readers and keep their attention from the very first page until the plot culminates at the end of the book. The best books are usually read in one sitting
Every year the Nobel Prize for Literature is awarded to the writer whose work of fiction is considered to be a unique literary achievement. There are many writers who are Nobel Prize winners, W. Faulkner, J. Steinbeck, and E. Hemingway just to mention some of them.
People whose hobby is reading can buy books in a bookshop (bookstore AmE) or borrow books from a library. Libraries store books, magazines and newspapers and you may be sure you will be able to find almost any book you need there. Some libraries are free of charge but most of them charge a small fee for yearly membership or for each book borrowed. If you want to borrow books from a library, you can ask a librarian or a friend who is keen on reading to recommend a good book or you could check the book reviews in your local newspaper.
Reading is a great, which gives people the opportunity to learn something new and improve their communication skills, It also challenges their imaginations and brings pleasure to their lives.