Which book would you take with you to a desert island?
It was the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-15th century that led to the mass production of books. Numerous copies could thus be printed, allowing for their increasingly widespread and universal diffusion: the 42-line Gutenberg Bible (“B 42”), 180 copies of which were produced between 1454-1455, was the first major book to be printed using a movable type system.
In France, 7% of the population is still illiterate. Despite this, numerous readers flick through or devour written material, skimming through or becoming immersed in books, because reading is the door that opens up the world. As Victor Hugo once said, "to read is to travel, to travel is to read".
Literary prizes, book fairs, festivals, workshops, public reading sessions... writers, printers, editors and bookshops encourage reading and offer a vast choice of reading material: scrolls, codex manuscripts, incunabula, books of hours, old books, comics, encyclopaedia, or paperbacks, there is something for all ages and all tastes.
Are you a fan of BookCrossing? Would you leave a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others?