Books

This is Sleepy History. Sleepy History is a production of Slumber Studios. To listen, add free and support the show, check out our premium feed. Hello, it's Elizabeth here, the host of The Sleepy Bookshelf. This is another Sleep-inducing podcast from the Slumber Studios Network. I'm dropping by just to let you know that I'm starting a brand new book on The Sleepy Bookshelf right now. This season, I'll be reading A Room With A View by E.M. Forster, where we will travel to Italy and back, exploring romance and social expectations in Edwardian England. If you're interested, just search The Sleepy Bookshelf in your favourite podcast player and go to the most recent episodes to find this new season. I hope to see you there, to put down your worries for the day and pick up a good book. Wherever you're listening now, there's a good chance there's a book nearby. On your bedside table, perhaps, or in your bag. Books are now so common, filling up our shelves and surfaces, that it's easy to take their presence for granted. But it hasn't always been this way. Not so long ago, books belonged to the most privileged members of society. And the book, as we think of it, a collection of paper pages, is a relatively recent invention. Tonight, we'll go right back to the beginning. We'll trace the history of this now ubiquitous object, discovering how it shaped our world and minds. So just relax and let your mind drift as we explore The Sleepy History of Books. Before books could exist, writing had to be invented. This was an innovation that would change the world, allowing the preservation and diffusion of all kinds of knowledge. The earliest forms of writing, proto-writing, date back to the 7th millennium BCE. That's about 9,000 years ago. Intriguing examples have been found in China and parts of Europe. Symbols carved into clay, torto shells and other materials, which seem to communicate certain concepts. However, writing systems wouldn't emerge until much later. A writing system represents elements of a spoken language in a systematic way. It's a more sophisticated, complete form of communication than proto-writing. Most historians agree that the earliest known writing system appeared in Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq. From around 3300 BCE, people in Mesopotamia began to inscribe clay tablets, pressing a reed stylus into moist clay in order to make characters. Afterwards, the tablets were left to dry in the sun, or sometimes fired in hot kilns, which made them more durable. Over time, scribes developed a writing system that came to be known as Sumerian cuneiform, a name that refers to the distinctive wedge-shaped characters. To begin with, writing seems to have mostly served a practical purpose. It was used for things like record keeping. For instance, a text from Uruk contains a list of city officials. These include priests, legal professionals and leader of the lambs, presumably an important job at the time. Storytelling, of course, predates writing. Humans have been inventing and sharing stories for many thousands of years. But the invention of writing systems allowed for a new possibility. Stories could now be recorded in a physical form, so they could be shared widely and preserved for future generations. And this brings us to one of the earliest surviving literary works, The Epic of Gilgamesh. Depending on how you define it, Gilgamesh might be considered the world's very first book. The original poems date back to around 2100 BCE, about 4,000 years ago. Like the other texts we've mentioned, The Epic of Gilgamesh comes from Mesopotamia and it was written in cuneiform on a clay tablet. But as reading material, it's certainly a lot more interesting than administrative lists. It tells the story of Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk, and his friendship with Ankhidu. It's an exciting tale of gods, battles, and adventures, but also a reflection of transience and mortality. The Epic of Gilgamesh has a somewhat complicated history, as it exists in different versions on various clay tablets. One of the best known copies was discovered in the ruins of an ancient library, the Royal Library of Ashurbanipal. Ashurbanipal was a king of the Assyrian Empire, who lived in the 7th century BCE. He had a reputation as an intellectual, and over the years he built up an extraordinary collection of clay tablets, more than 30,000. The King's Library in Nineveh, Namosul, Uruk, was one of the most important in the ancient world. It housed a variety of religious and scientific works, as well as legal and financial texts. The clay tablets were written in different languages, and were carefully categorized and organized. Interestingly, it was the destruction of the library that helped to preserve many of the texts. It's thought that in 612 BCE, when Nineveh was burned during an invasion, a fire raged through the library, baking many of the tablets. This made them harder and more durable, preserving the texts for posterity. The existence of Ashurbanipal's library shows us how the written text had grown in importance over the centuries. Originally a practical object, it came to represent something more profound, collective knowledge and learning. Written texts were something to be kept, perhaps even treasured. Over time, they would become a symbol of civilization itself. Around 3200 BCE, about the time the Sumerians were developing cuneiform, the ancient Egyptians were coming up with their own writing system. While Egyptian hieroglyphics seemed to have emerged independently, some scholars believe that there was likely a Mesopotamian influence. Either way, the hieroglyphic writing system, which combined a variety of symbols and phonetic elements, is recognized as something distinctly Egyptian. And although the Egyptians may not have invented writing itself, they came up with another important innovation, one that would transform the evolution of the book. As early as the third millennium BCE, about 5,000 years ago, Egyptians began to harvest the stem of the papyrus plant, turning it into a writing material. Individual sheets of papyrus could be pasted together to form scrolls, some of which were several meters long. Papyrus scrolls might be considered the books of ancient Egypt. As they were relatively cheap and easy to produce, they were manufactured on a large scale. Papyrus was used to record everything from folktales to medical treatises, preserving valuable knowledge. The availability of papyrus helped to improve levels of literacy and education across the kingdom, and allowed Egyptian culture to flourish. While some fragments of Egyptian papyri survive to this day, unfortunately, the vast majority of texts have been lost. Papyrus is a fairly fragile material. It fared better in the dry climate of Egypt, but didn't do so well in the damper conditions of Europe. In part, this explains both the loss of ancient texts and why papyrus gradually declined in popularity. That being said, both the ancient Greeks and the Romans relied heavily on papyrus, and there was a growing appetite for books. Although very few ancient Greek books have survived, we've been left with some tantalizing glimpses of a literary culture that existed in Athens from the 5th century BCE. Red figavases depict men, women, and children reading papyrus scrolls. A tombstone shows a young man absorbed by the papyrus in his lap. Perhaps this is how he wanted to be remembered as a reader. We also know that around this time, there seems to have been a burgeoning book market in Athens. For a reasonable price, Athenians could buy historical or philosophical works, or copies of plays. Some texts were exported overseas. Books were gradually becoming more accessible, if not to the general population, then at least to the literate elite. The Greeks also built some remarkable libraries. The most famous is undoubtedly the Library of Alexandria in Egypt, which was under Greek rule at the time. The Library of Alexandria is thought to have been established in the 3rd century BCE. It contained hundreds of thousands of books, or rather papyrus scrolls, thanks in part to the Ptolemaic kings and their book-collecting strategies. According to one story, every ship that arrived in the harbor of Alexandria would be searched for books. When a book was found, it was taken to the library and a decision was made. The book would either be returned to its owner or kept by the library. In this case, the owner would be compensated with a quickly prepared copy. For many years, the Library of Alexandria was very influential, contributing to the city's reputation as a center of learning. But between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE, the library fell into decline and was eventually destroyed. While this seems like a huge cultural loss, we don't actually know how many texts were truly lost. At the time, it was a common practice to make copies of papyrus scrolls. So, it's tempting to believe that much of the collection survived thanks to the diligent efforts of scribes. And as a cultural icon, the Library of Alexandria has had a long-lasting legacy. To this day, it's a symbol of knowledge and a reminder of the priceless value of books. The ancient Romans were also enthusiastic readers, particularly the upper classes. It was fashionable to have a book collection and a large-scale book trade began to develop. Like the Greeks and Egyptians, Romans used papyrus scrolls. But at some point, they began to use a new format, cutting sheets of papyrus and putting them together to form a codex. The codex, codices in the plural, is generally considered to be the ancestor of the modern book. The format seems to have evolved from Roman wax tablets, which were often bound together in a book-like form and used as notebooks. Codices were much more practical than papyrus scrolls, especially when it came to creating and reading lengthy texts. From late antiquity onwards, the codex became widespread. But the pages were generally made of animal skin parchment rather than papyrus, which was on its way out. In China, documents were traditionally written on bone, bamboo or silk until the appearance of a new innovation. Paper Paper may have been invented as early as the second century BCE. However, it didn't become widespread until later. Sai Luen, a court official who lived in China in the first century CE, is often credited with inventing paper, or at least improving it significantly. It's thought that he came up with the idea of making paper with plant and textile fibers. This innovation made it possible to create sheets of paper cheaply and efficiently, contributing to the evolution of the book. Another Chinese invention was woodblock printing around the 7th century. This involved carving wooden blocks and then printing text or images on a material such as fabric or paper. While creating the blocks was slow, painstaking work, the printing process was fairly quick. This technique allowed books to be produced on a large scale throughout China and other parts of Asia. Similarly to Europe, the rise of the book in China was influenced by a desire to share and preserve knowledge. Books also became status symbols in a way, valuable objects to be collected. But in China, there was also another factor at play, religion. Followers of Mahayana Buddhism believed that religious texts had intrinsic value. These books were seen as objects with sacred power which could protect people from evil. In addition, copying religious texts counted as a devotional act, one that could generate positive karmic results for the scribe. So, this was another motivation for producing books, particularly religious ones. Indeed, the oldest surviving printed book is a Buddhist text. This version of the Diamond Sutra, now in the collection of the British Library, was written by a Chinese scribe in the 9th century. As well as being a very influential spiritual text, the Diamond Sutra has a unique place in book history for a couple of reasons. Not only is it the oldest printed book that we know of, but it also includes a clear statement of intent regarding distribution. The book ends with a declaration by the scribe, reverently made for universal free distribution. According to some interpretations, this makes the Diamond Sutra the world's first public domain text. While the concept of public domain might seem a little anachronistic in terms of 9th century China, it gives us something to think about. Books are meant to be shared. Their benefits, whether spiritual or intellectual, should be enjoyed by all. Paper didn't reach Europe until the 11th or 12th century. For most of the Middle Ages, books were produced in codex format, with pages made from parchment. Parchment was usually made from sheepskin, while vellum, a higher quality material, used calfskin. The printing press had not yet been invented, so books were meticulously written and copied by hand. During this period of history, monasteries were the main centres of learning in Europe. Many manuscripts were produced by monks. They were the preservers and disseminators not just of religious knowledge, but also fields such as botany, astronomy and medicine. Later, however, manuscript production became a more commercial enterprise. In 13th century Paris, there were enough wealthy book lovers to support the manuscript industry. However, it's worth keeping in mind that for the average person in Europe, books were not yet that accessible. Much of the population was illiterate, and only the rich could afford an extensive book collection. Some of the books that have survived from the Middle Ages are true works of art. The Book of Kells, for instance, is a beautiful, richly illustrated manuscript. It's believed to have been produced in a Scottish or Irish monastery in the 9th century. Written in Latin, it contains the four gospels of the New Testament. The text is written on vellum pages in coloured ink and accompanied by the most exquisite artwork. The Book of Kells was most likely created for sacramental purposes. It wasn't designed to be passed around. But other religious manuscripts were diffused more widely. And with more copies of the Bible in circulation, it was easier for Christianity to spread across Europe. Books helped beliefs to travel. And in some cases, the book itself became a symbol of religious authority. Books like the Bible were seen as tangible representations of God's Word. As we mentioned earlier, paper seems to have made its first appearance in Europe around the 11th century. By this point, it had already been in use in China for hundreds of years. It's likely that there were far more books being produced in China than anywhere else in the world. But by the 8th century, paper had reached the Middle East, where it quickly became widespread, mostly replacing parchment. And by the late 11th century, or early 12th, paper was being produced in Spain. At the time, the Iberian Peninsula was under Muslim rule. Most likely, it was trade links with other Muslim nations that led to paper being introduced to Spain and then other parts of Europe. The first European paper mills were in Spain, followed by Italy and France. However, although some books were made with paper, parchment was more durable and perceived to be higher quality. Then, in the mid-15th century, a new invention led to paper becoming the favored material in Europe. This invention would not only transform the book, but shape civilization. As you've probably guessed, we're talking about the printing press. The movable printing press was created around 1440 by the German craftsman Johannes Gutenberg. It's thought that Gutenberg took inspiration from the wine press. He designed a new, highly efficient machine capable of producing 3,000 pages per day. Before Gutenberg, books were copied by hand. Book production was a slow and laborious process. But with the printing press, it was now possible to produce books quickly and cheaply on a large scale. The printing revolution in Europe allowed books to become much more accessible. Ideas and information spread rapidly. This also contributed to significant improvements in education and literacy rates across Europe. For instance, in the 14th century, the vast majority of adults in England couldn't even spell their own name. But by the mid-18th century, about 60% of adult men were considered literate. The printing press improved access to the Bible and other religious texts. Faith was an important motivator in terms of learning to read. People wanted to be able to understand the Word of God. And of course, improved literacy allowed access to other kinds of texts, helping to create a literary culture. During the Renaissance, a flourishing publishing industry developed in Europe. In particular, the city of Venice became known as a publishing powerhouse. The Republic of Venice, then at the height of its power, had all the right ingredients – wealth, trading connections, and access to raw materials and technology. Additionally, compared to more authoritarian states in Europe, Venice offered relative freedom of press. An important figure in the history of the book is Aldous Menucius, an influential printer who lived in Venice in the late 15th century. He introduced a new typeface, the first kind of italic type which was elegant and legible, and also helped to standardize punctuation. But most significant, perhaps, was his decision to print small, portable books, the precursor to the modern paperback. These books were relatively affordable. Menucius and other humanist thinkers of the time strongly believed that knowledge should be accessible. Prior to the 15th century, books had mainly been for the privileged few, the small percentage of society who were literate and could afford to own books. But from this point onwards, books became increasingly affordable and accessible, and people began to read not just for education or religious reasons, but also for pleasure. This brings us to another topic, one with a long and complex history of its own. What are the origins of the novel? Well, to some extent, that depends on how you define novel. Some would say that the first novel was written in Japan in the early 11th century. The Tale of Genji, written by the noblewoman Murasaki Shibu, has multiple novel-like elements. It's a lengthy prose work that covers a sequence of events in the life of a main character. It has consistent characterization and psychological depth. Of course, prior to print culture, the Tale of Genji existed only in manuscript form, limiting its readership to some extent. Nonetheless, it was hugely successful and came to be considered a classic work of Japanese literature. In Europe, some medieval and renaissance texts might be considered early novels or precursors to the novel. For instance, the works of Joffrey Chaucer or Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Mallory. They're engaging fictional tales with complex plots and casts of characters. But according to many scholars, the first true modern novel is Don Quixote. Written by the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes, the first part was published in 1605. Don Quixote is a classic for many reasons. It's vibrant characters, it's irony and intelligence, but as an early novel, one feature that makes it stand out is its use of heteroglossia. Simply put, that means it contains a range of voices and viewpoints. Nowadays, we take it for granted that many works of fiction contain multiple viewpoints. But when Cervantes did it in Don Quixote, a long prose narrative, it was something fresh and exciting. A new kind of novel. In the English language, one of the early pioneers of the novel was Daniel Defoe. Robinson Crusoe was published in 1719. Defoe combined features of multiple genres, including romance and memoir, to create a captivating tale of adventure. Like Cervantes, Defoe seemed to be doing something new, a more ambitious kind of storytelling. And it turned out that readers liked it. In fact, they loved it. It wasn't until the 18th century that the novel truly took off in Europe. It was only then, perhaps, that conditions were right. The widespread availability of the printing press improved literacy rates and a growing interest in this form of storytelling. Of course, humans have always enjoyed stories, but there's quite a difference between storytelling around a fire and sitting down to read a lengthy book in silence. Novel reading is now so common that we take it for granted. But to our distant ancestors, it may have seemed like a peculiar activity, choosing to spend time alone, immersing ourselves in a fictional story for no reason other than pleasure. While some early novels had a moral message, this wasn't the primary draw for readers. Indeed, in certain novels, the characters' immoral behavior only added to the appeal. Readers enjoyed being shocked and scandalized. Novels allowed people to explore complex moral issues and to look at the darker side of human nature. Just think of some classic novels from the 19th century, such as Madame Bovary or Wuthering Heights. They're not just good stories, but also psychological studies exploring characters in a lives. The novel, perhaps to a greater degree than other forms of storytelling, invites us to try to understand others. Modern research suggests that reading fiction can increase people's empathy and improve social cognitive abilities. And so, when we consider the rise of the novel from the 18th century onwards, it's worth reflecting on just how important this development was. Books may have changed our brains, shaping the way we see the world. In the 19th century, books became a big business. Paper and book bindings were now much cheaper and technical innovations, such as the invention of the steam-powered printing press, helped to speed up production. As books were cheaper to produce, they also became more affordable for readers. Demand increased as people wanted books for entertainment, self-improvement, and to pass the time on long train journeys. By looking at the number of new books published each year in Britain, we can get a sense of just how much the industry had expanded. Before 1750, there were about 100 new titles each year. By 1825, there were 600, and by the end of the century, there were 6,000 new books each year. Many of the big publishers still in operation today were founded in the 19th century or the early 20th. Macmillan, for example, was founded in London in 1843 and published Victorian classics like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Simon and Schuster began publishing books of crossword puzzles in 1924 and grew to become one of the largest publishers in the US. In the UK, in 1935, a man named Alan Lane was disappointed by the quality of the books on offer at a train station. He was inspired to create a company that specialized in cheap but well-designed paperbacks, Penguin Books. Penguin quickly became successful and had a significant impact on British culture, introducing readers to classic literature and thought-provoking politics. Books were now more popular and accessible than ever before, particularly in the US and Europe, but also in other parts of the world. The Soviet Union, for example, published huge quantities of books. For Spanish language titles, Buenos Aires was a publishing hub, while Cairo produced many thousands of books in Arabic. By the 20th century, virtually every country and every language had its own book culture. In many ways, the 20th century was the golden age of the book. Publishers also began to experiment with different formats. The audiobook, first designed for visually impaired readers, was invented in the 1930s. The first audiobooks were known as talking books and were published on vinyl records. They reached a wider audience in the 1970s with the appearance of the cassette tape and then portable audio players like the Walkman. Then came the CD and the MP3. These days, audiobooks are very popular. It's an accessible format that allows people to enjoy a good book while driving or doing other tasks. However, studies suggest that if you give an audiobook your full attention, listening is much the same as reading a book. It activates similar parts of the brain. Another important development in the 20th century was the invention of the e-book. We might think of the e-book as something more modern, a creation of the 21st century, but in fact, the first e-books made their appearance around the 1970s. The free digital library, Project Gutenberg, named after the inventor of the printing press, launched in 1971. The website's creator, Michael S. Hart, typed the United States Declaration of Independence into his computer. In doing so, he created what was arguably the world's first e-book. In the 1990s, new formats emerged. e-books became easier to download and read. But it wasn't until Amazon launched its e-reader in 2007 that e-books became mainstream. The Kindle was an immediate success, transforming the book market over the next few years. By 2012, e-book sales had surpassed the sales of hardbacks in the US. When e-books first became popular, some wondered if print books would soon be a thing of the past. But actually, while e-books continue to sell, making up about 20% of the market, most readers still seem to prefer a paperback. In the UK, as many as 200,000 new titles are published each year. One of the reasons that number is so high is the increase in self-published books, another interesting development. Some see this as a positive change. Getting published is now easier than ever, and a wider, more diverse range of authors can share their stories. But others are skeptical. Does the world need that many books? Now, even AI is at it, churning out content of sometimes dubious quality. Nonetheless, one thing is for sure. Books are here to stay, and printed books are remarkably resilient. Bookshops and libraries continue to endure. Even the younger generation, who have grown up with e-books, still seem to value physical copies. For some readers, the content of the pages and the physical object are almost indistinguishable. The book lover loves the story, but also the book itself, a cherished object that often takes pride of place on a shelf or a bedside table. Books are read and reread, collected and treasured, and perhaps passed on to the next generation. For true bibliophiles, it may seem that life is too short. So many books, so little time. We might share the hope of the writer Jorge Luis Borges. I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library. 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