Portal:Books
The Books Portal
![Johannes Trithemius'Polygraphiae (1518)](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Polygraphiae.jpg/200px-Polygraphiae.jpg)
Literature | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||||
Oral literature | ||||||
Major written forms | ||||||
|
||||||
Prose genres | ||||||
|
||||||
Poetry genres | ||||||
|
||||||
Dramatic genres | ||||||
History | ||||||
Lists and outlines | ||||||
Theory and criticism | ||||||
![]() | ||||||
As a conceptual object, a book refers to a written work of substantial length, which may be distributed either physically or in digital forms like ebooks. These works can be broadly classified into fiction (containing invented content, often narratives) and non-fiction (containing content intended as factual truth). A physical book may not contain such a work: for example, it may contain only drawings, engravings, photographs, puzzles, or removable content like paper dolls. It may also be left empty to be used for writing or drawing, as in the case of account books, appointment books, autograph books, notebooks, diaries and sketchbooks.
Books are sold at both regular stores and specialized bookstores, as well as online for delivery, and can be borrowed from libraries. The reception of books has led to a number of social consequences, including censorship.
The contemporary book industry has seen several major changes due to new technologies. In some markets, the sale of printed books has decreased due to the increased use of ebooks. However, printed books still largely outsell ebooks, and many people have a preference for print. The 21st century has also seen a rapid rise in the popularity of audiobooks, which are recordings of books being read aloud. Additionally, awareness of the needs of people who have difficulty accessing print media due to disabilities like visual impairment has led to a rise in formats designed for greater accessibility, such as braille printing or formats supporting text-to-voice. Google Books estimated that as of 2010, approximately 130,000,000 unique books had been published. (Full article...)
Selected article
![]() | This Wikipedia page has been superseded by Portal:Books and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
![]() | Note: Article entries are now being transcluded directly on the main portal page. However, this page should be retained for historical reference. |
Usage
- Add a new Selected article to the next available subpage.
- Update "max=" to new total for its {{Random portal component}} on the main page.
Nominations
Feel free to add Featured, Category:A-Class , Good quality rated articles about books to the above list.
Selected picture
Selected pictures
Portal:Books/2
Portal:Books/3
Portal:Books/4
Portal:Books/5
Portal:Books/6
Portal:Books/7
Portal:Books/8
Portal:Books/9
Portal:Books/10
Portal:Books/11
Nominations
Feel free to add related featured pictures to the above list. Other pictures may be nominated below. To nominate an image, please use the following format:
===[[:Image:Name of image]]=== (Reason for nominating) --~~~~ ;Discussion
-
Illustration by Thure de Thulstrup to H. Rider Haggard's Allan Quatermain novel, Maiwa's Revenge.
It's a featured picture, which would normally mean it could simply be added; however, it comes from the magazine serialisation of the book in Harper's Magazine, not an actual bound book. Thoughts? Shoemaker's Holiday (talk) 00:38, 16 May 2009 (UTC)
- Discussion
Did you know...
- ...that in English language works the table of contents is at the beginning of a book, but in French and Spanish ones it is at the back, by the index?
- ...that print space determines the effective area on the paper of a book, journal or other press work, and is limited by the surrounding borders?
- ...that the craft of bookbinding may have originated around the 1st century A.D.?
Books topics
Web resources
- Bookbinding and the Conservation of books, A Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology, 1982 by Matt T. Roberts and Don Etherington
- IOBA glossary of book terms
- Project Gutenberg - Free e-Books
- Words at Large: The best in books from CBC.ca
- please add more!
In the news
March 14, 2012
After a 244-year span in print, the Encyclopædia Britannica will discontinue its published volumes. With less than 1% of revenue coming from print versions, Jorge Cauz, Britannica's president, indicates there simply is not sufficient demand for the print publication. In the last 11 years demand has plummeted due to competition from Wikipedia and Britannica's own digital version. Britannica peaked in sales in 1990 with 120,000 sets sold. The 2010 edition will be the last in print and has sold 8,000 sets to date; with 4,000 sets remaining.
Related portals
Books news
Quotes
"A book is a garden you can carry in your pocket."
"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counsellors, and the most patient of teachers."
"The contents of someone's bookcase are part of his history, like an ancestral portrait."
"The books that help you the most are those which make you think."
Books lists
Categories
WikiProjects
WikiProjects related to literature:
Concepts: | Biographies · Books · Comics · Magazines · Manga · Novels · Poetry · Short stories · Translation studies |
Genres: | Alternate history · Children's literature · Crime · Fantasy · Horror · Mythology · Romance · Science fiction |
Authors: | Honoré de Balzac · Roald Dahl · William Shakespeare |
Series: | Artemis Fowl · Chronicles of Narnia · Discworld · Harry Potter · His Dark Materials · Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy · Inheritance Cycle · James Bond · King Arthur · Middle-earth · Percy Jackson · Redwall · A Series of Unfortunate Events · Shannara · Sherlock Holmes · A Song of Ice and Fire · Star Wars · Sword of Truth · Twilight · Warriors · Water Margin · Wizard of Oz |
Regions: | Australian literature · Indian literature · Persian literature |
Things you can do
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e6/Nuvola_apps_korganizer.svg/55px-Nuvola_apps_korganizer.svg.png)
- Find news articles regarding notable books and add them to the "In the news" section.
- Expand this portal and book-related articles: List of Jamaican books
- Create new articles: Lists of books provides a comprehensive list of notable books, many of which have no articles.
- Add references: List of CEO books, List of anonymously published works
- Make this portal more complete:
- Add {{WPBooks}} to the Talk pages of articles about notable books – but try to add an initial Assessment from the Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books
- Add
{{Portal|Books}}
to appropriate articles within the subject
- Anything else you can think of doing.
???
Subportals
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikispecies
Directory of species -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus