Cambridge University Library has run out of room for its 9 million+ books and built a huge store to hold 4 million more. The first book they put in was Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
books
When Roald Dahl attended school…
When Roald Dahl attended school, the nearby Cadbury chocolate factory would occasionally send boxes of new chocolates to the school to be tested by students. It is believed that this likely inspired him in writing his third children’s book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
In 1969 an experimental book…
In 1969 an experimental book named The Unfortunates was published. It shipped as a ‘book in a box’ consisting of 27 unbound sections with the first and last chapter specified. The remaining sections range from a single paragraph to 12 pages in length and are designed to be read in any order.
In 1895, UK prime minister William Gladstone…
In 1895, UK prime minister William Gladstone founded a public library. Aged 85, he wheelbarrowed his personal collection of 32,000 books the ¾ mile between his home and the library. His desire, his daughter said, was to “bring together books who had no readers with readers who had no books”.
A writer was caught for a murder…
A writer was caught for a murder only after a detective read his book about a fictional murder which contained similarities and details to the real life murder that only the killer would know about. Authorities also learned he was also planning to commit another murder to write book about.
In the late 1700s and 1800s…
In the late 1700s and 1800s, there was widespread panic about the evils of book-reading, which was described as “an outrage on decency and common sense”. People were concerned that avid novel-readers were ‘addicted’ and were becoming anti-social.
There is such an expansive collection of books under…
There is such an expansive collection of books under the British library in their archive, that if a person could read 5 books per day it would take the 80,000 years to complete.
There is a book titled “Everything Men Know About Women…
There is a book titled “Everything Men Know About Women” by Alan Francis It is filled with over 100 blank pages and has sold over 1 million copies.
The smell given off by books can be used to tell…
The smell given off by books can be used to tell the age of the books, and how close the books are to degradation.
In Iceland books are exchanged on Christmas Eve and you spend…
In Iceland books are exchanged on Christmas Eve and you spend the rest of the night reading. Iceland publishes more books per capita than any other country; & new books are typically published only during the Christmas season. This frenzy is called Jólabókaflóð, or “Christmas Book Flood.”