Books - reading

In the antique world were works of literature very valuable. After then, when the letter-printer was invented, books were available for everyone.


Nowadays, some people prefer to watch films and they forget to books. I think that reading books is much better. And why? The firs reason is, that when you read a book you can imagine all the characters, situations, country and a lot of things around.



The Books are much expensive and libraries too. We have to pay 50 crowns in our town's library every year. In Humenné we have to pay 100 crowns. In our town we have only one bookshop called Juvena.



Why do we read? There are many reasons why we read the books, for example:
1. Get some new information. You can find the answer to many questions.



2. Geography-books help us to learn about foreign countries as well as exotic lands with their wonderful plants and animals, about the people and their habits and characters.



3. Values – we learn how to discern what is good, intelligent and as well what is bad.



4. Wisdom – People better understand the situations and know how to make decisions.



5. Empathy – In reading books about people, we sometimes find that their lives are a mirror of our own.



6. Behaviour – People need to chance their behaviour.



7. Imagination – Reading improves one's imagination.



8. Language



9. Vocabulary – Reading increases one's vocabulary and therefore develops one's word power.



10. Therapy – Books are like a cure when we are tired or sad. A book can be one of our best friends.



What do we read? We can choose from various literary genres. Some people prefer light reading, such as science fiction, comics, short stories and so on. Somebody prefers demanding reading, such as novels or historical novels, literature of fact and so on. Somebody rather read adventure stories, f. e. from Jack London, Karl May, John Steinbeck, Norman Mailer, Ernest Hemingway, William Shakespeare.



William Shakespeare is considered to be the greatest of all play writers all over the world. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564. He visited the local grammar school. In 1582 he married Anne from nearby village. She was 8 years older than William and they had two daughters: Susan and Judith. But Judith died at the age of 11.



Shakespeare lived in London. His plays were first published in 1623. After acting and writing and after his daughter's death he went back to Stratford and lived a quiet life with his family. He died in 1616.



Romeo and Juliet is about the unhappy love and death of Romeo and Juliet, the only children of two powerful houses of Verona – the House of Montague and the House of Capulet. Romeo meets Juliet at the ball. Their love and marriage are secret. Romeo kills Tybalt who is Juliet's cousin. Prince of Verona sends Romeo to the exile. He gives her magic drops after which she falls asleep for several hours. Romeo learns about Juliet's death. He does not know about the trick and kills himself. Soon after that Juliet wakes up and when she sees Romeo dead, she kills herself too.