Which is better - eBooks or Paper books?

For many years, the best way to share the written word and information was through books. However, in the latest years, as technology has evolved, we find ourselves with the ability to access digital books that have the same content as the paper ones, but which bring different ideas into the mix, as well as numerous other bonuses.

Both ebooks and paper books have their own strengths and weaknesses, and in this article we are going to list them both for each category.

E-book

There are multiple pros and cons of eBooks. The first major benefit that you can find in an ebook comes from the fact that they have a small size. Because they are virtual and not physical, you will need a storage space and your reader or USB stick can do the trick just nicely. Adding hundreds of books is very easy. Additionally, the ebook experience is very customizable, because you can change  the colour, fonts and other information according to your own necessities. This is a great way to tailor your experience according to your needs. Additionally, you can change the device brightness to any value you want and, if that is not enough, you can easily get these books for a very low price online.

The downside however comes from the fact that you won’t get the same appeal like reading a paper book, not to mention that these books can’t be lent to anyone. Also, there’s the fact that you need to invest into an ebook reader first and that particular device needs to be charged often in order to get the experience that you want.

Paper Books

The paper books are great because they bring that amazing experience of exploring each story page by page, and even the simple action of turning the page has a magical feel to it. Sharing the book is very easy, in fact all you need to do is to pass it along - it’s very easy and convenient as well. Of course, books will also bring sentimental value and you can get attached to them quite fast, because thanks to them you get the connection between you and the story.

Pros and cons of paper books can be many, but while the upsides are quite neat, there are a few downsides as well. For example, a book does require a lot of space, because of the large size. Print books are also very costly sometimes. Also, there’s the fact that you are tied to different reading conditions and, what’s even worse in the end, it’s that these won’t last forever, as paper will degrade as time passes.

In conclusion, these are the best ways to enjoy the written information nowadays. In the battle of ebook vs paper book there’s only a single winner, and that is the customer, because he/she now has multiple ways to gain access to the written content!

Why is reading important?

Although more and more people nowadays are using the computer for every task, the reality is that reading books or information will certainly help you achieve great results in life.

The importance of reading comes from the fact that you can improve your vocabulary and, of course, you get to become a more intelligent person as well, mainly because you learn about new situations and how to deal with them, new ideas and so on.

One of the major benefits of reading comes from the fact that it brings mental stimulation. Reading will slow the spread of dementia or Alzheimer disease in your body, and you will feel more powerful which is essential in the end. In fact, the brain does require a lot of exercise in order to keep it healthy and as strong as you want it to be, and what can be better than actually stimulating it on a cognitive level with a continuous reading pattern.

Additionally, by reading every type of book, including educational books South Africa, you will be able to reduce the amount of stress that you currently have, a great thing to do if you are in a stressful situation and just want to get rid of the bad thoughts. Reading allows you to get a focus on something and just have a lot of fun in the process.

Of course, reading the best educational books and child literature, as well as any other type of book will provide a great way to expand the vocabulary, as every book you read will come with some new and exciting works.

On top of that, reading increases your knowledge exponentially. Each book brings you new and interesting challenges that you can be a part of, but it also makes you learn about new things as well. You will be able to learn how to cope with certain situations, or how to become more innovative for example. Books are a perfect source of knowledge, and this is the main reason why they have been used for thousands of years as the best way to share the knowledge with the newer generations.

Educational books for kids will also provide memory improvement. Improving the current memory is a great thing to do, but in order to do that the brain needs to receive new and more expansive ways to work.

Lastly, thanks to reading you will be able to engage in better analytical thinking, a skill that helps anyone that wants to think more deeply about things.

As you can see, reading has a lot of benefits. Alongside those described above, it can also lead to better writing skills, as well as an improved focus and concentration. Try to read as often as possible and always remember that knowledge is power, so the more you read, the better it is for you!

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8 Tips to help you study better

 

Any student will tell you how stressful it can be to find the time and patience to study for a big exam. It is, however, an incredibly important part of the process of studying, which means that everyone needs to understand how to do it effectively if they are planning on being successful as a student at any level.

 

Here are a few tips that will help you cope with your exam preparation, and will teach you how to effectively study any material in front of you.

 

1.     The first thing you’ll need to do is understand when and where you are able to study. Some people cannot study without absolute silence, other prefer having music playing and other people around, perhaps in a coffee shop or a common room. Find what works for you and let it help you focus.

 

2.     When studying, you cannot afford to get lost in the details from the get go. Make sure you are able to understand the main topics you are dealing with and get the gist of the arguments being made before settling in and learning the details.

 

3.     You need to have a structured study plan, but that doesn’t mean you can’t give yourself some leeway. Take some breaks and rearrange your study periods, but don’t allow yourself to skip any sessions without a good reason.

 

4.     Take some breaks in between your study sessions to quiz yourself. You can find tests online to see if you’re on the right track, or you can make yourself a set of flash cards to create a mini quiz.

 

5.     When you’re prepping, don’t be afraid to ask questions to your lecturers or teaching assistants to clarify any problems you may have. Remember the old adage: there are no stupid questions!

 

6.     Many people find that they are able to study more effectively in a group. If you’re planning on forming a study group, find a group of people who are actually serious about doing well in the upcoming test. If you get stuck with someone who isn’t serious, they will do everything they can to distract you and get out of having to do any real work.

 

7.     Even if you think you are the kind of person who is able to cram a lot of studying into a short space of time, the best way to do it will be to space out your studying. This way you will give yourself more time to actually understand the work at hand, and you will avoid any stress that comes with staying up all night right before the test to perhaps learn one more little piece of information.

 

8.     Study a little bit every day for about 10 days before the test, depending on how much content you have to get through. This way you give yourself a way to keep the information fresh in your memory every day, and you will constantly be thinking about it. Once it becomes habit in this way, chances are you won’t forget it for a very long time.

 

Written by Wesley Geyer 

The Life and Work of Roald Dahl

Almost every child in the world has seen, heard of, or read one of Roald Dahl’s books. As a children’s author he is perhaps one of the most prolific writers of the 20th century. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach are two of the most recognizable and read children’s stories in the world.

Roald Dahl started out working for the Shell Petroleum company before becoming a successful and prolific fighter pilot in World War II, having taken part in the famous ‘Battle of Athens’after recovering from a near fatal crash in the Egyptian desert. Once he moved back to Britain, he became an intelligence officer, and was responsible for gaining favour with the American politicians and armed forces in order to convince them to aid the war efforts against the German Forces.

His first book ‘The Gremlins’paid homage to the folklore that was prominent in the Royal Airforce, when pilots would blame the mythical Gremlins for the problems they found in their planes. The book was in development for Disney, but a feature length film never materialized. Some of his other prominent works, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach did eventually become some of the most popular movies in their times. His children’s book ‘The BFG’(Big Friendly Giant), which eventually became an animated movie, was written in honor of his daughter Olivia, who passed away at the age of 7 to measles.

Roald Dahl, perhaps more than any other writer during his time recognized the value of reading and telling stories, especially for children. His stories are used as tales for teaching lessons, and while they sometimes border on dark humor, always carry messages with them that can be used practically and philosophically all the way into adulthood.

Dahl passed away at the age of 74 in 1990 due to a blood disease. He has been honored a number of times in various ways, most notably with the Roald Dahl Children’s Gallery in November 1996 at the Buckinghamshire County Museum near where he was born.



Written by Wesley Geyer

Five female writers all women should read

In the last six years, three of the five Pulitzer Fiction Prize winners have been women, the latest of which, earlier in 2014 broke records by reaching the New York Times bestsellers list in the first week of her book’s release.



Donna Tartt, famous for being a prolific author, often taking many years to complete a single book (her Pulitzer Prizewinning book “The Goldfinch, having taken around 11 years) is the latest in a long list of successful and innovative women in the field of literature, and there is a whole host of women whose work deserves to be taken seriously in 2014 and beyond.



Emma Donoghue



This Irish-born author and playwright has recently found international fame with her Bestseller ‘Room’, which tells the story of a five year old buy who has been imprisoned in a  room with his mother for his entire life. Her latest book ‘Frog Music’was released earlier in 2014, and has earned her a place on Time’s list of female authors to watch in 2014.



Zadie Smith



In 2000, Smith was lauded as one of the brightest young novelists of the 21st century, and though it was early days, her first book called ‘White Teeth’earned a spot on Time’s 100 Best English Language Novels of the last 100 years, and has seen her compared to Charles Dickens and John Irving.


Penelope Fitzgerald


Winner of the Booker Prize for her final novel titled ‘Blue Flower’, and widely regarded as one of the best English writers of the last century, Fitzgerald has incredible power and the imagery and context crammed into her often short novels will make any reader feel like they've gotten more than their money’s worth.



Isabel Wilkerson


Another Pulitzer Prize winner for her critically acclaimed non-fiction work ‘The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration’tells the real life story of the individuals who lived through the migration.


Lionel Shriver


In 2005, Shriver’s novel ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’won the famed Orange Prize for Fiction, and was later adapted into a feature film starring the likes of Tilda Swinton and John C. Reilly. She has since released four novels and remains active as an award winning journalist.




Written by Wesley Geyer


Creative Writer

Dr Maya Angelou – A phenomenal woman

Dr Maya Angelou, writer and civil rights activist was born on April 4^th, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. She is well-known for her memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which was published in 1969 and made literary history by being the first nonfiction best-seller written by an African-American woman.


Her poetry collection Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘Fore I Die was published in 1971 and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in that same year. She has received numerous honors throughout her career, amongst those two NAACP Image Awards in the category for outstanding literary work (nonfiction), which was awarded to her in 2005 and 2009 respectively.





Dr Maya’s talents include being an author, actress, screenwriter, dancer and poet. She was born with the name Marguerite Annie Johnson and at a young age her parents split up, which led to her growing up with her brother at their father’s mother in Arkansas.


Here she was exposed to racial prejudices, discrimination and at the age of 7 she was raped by her mother’s boyfriend. After the rape, her uncles killed the boyfriend and the whole process led to such intense trauma that Angelou spent several years in Arkansas as a virtual mute.


In 1944, at the age of 16 Angelou gave birth to a son, Guy, which saw her working a number of jobs to support both herself and her child. 8 years later, she married a Greek sailor called Anastasios Angelopulos and this led her to her professional name which is a blend of her childhood nickname “Maya” and a shortened version of her husband’s surname.


In the mid 1950’s her performance career began to take off with several roles in touring productions, off-Broadway productions and the release of her first album in 1957 called Miss Calypso.


She also became a member of the Harlem Writers Guild and started her work as civil rights activist by organizing and starring in the musical revue Cabaret for Freedom as a benefit for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. She spent much of the 1960’s abroad, living first in Egypt and then Ghana, where she held a position at the country’s university.


Upon her return to the United States, a friend and fellow writer called James Baldwin, urged her to write about her life experiences. This resulted in the 1969 memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which saw her become an international star.


She has continued to break new ground and wrote the drama Georgia, Georgia in 1972, becoming the first African-American woman to have her screenplay produced. She later earned a Tony Award nomination for her role in the play Look Away  in 1973 and in 1977 she was nominated for an Emmy Award for her work on television series Roots.


Angelou’s later successes include the following:


·         All God’s Children Need Travelling Shoes (1986 – autobiography)


·         A Song Flung Up to Heaven(2002 – autobiography)


·         Directing Down in the Delta (1998)


·         Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now(1994 – essay collection)


·         Great Food, All Day Long(2010 – cookbook)


·         And many more not mentioned here





On Angelou’s birthday in 1968, a close friend  Dr Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated and many years after this incident she stopped celebrating her birthday and instead sent flowers to King Jr’s widow, Coretta Scott King until her death in 2006. Angelou was also good friends with TV personality Oprah Winfrey who organised many a birthday celebration for her.


After a few years with health issues, Maya Angelou died at her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on 28 May 2014, a tragedy that shocked many and even prompted a statement from President Barack Obama in which he called her “a brilliant writer, a fierce friend and a truly phenomenal woman.” He wrote: “Angelou had the ability to remind us that we are all God’s children, that we all have something to offer.”

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Book Review

Book Review

Book: The Fault in Our Stars
Author: John Green

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green’s heart-wrenchingly beautiful novel about a teenage girl and boy who meet at a cancer support center. The novel has already won emotional accolades from readers and reviewers."

- Barnes & Noble

5 Famous scrapbookers

Scrapbooking is usually not a pastime we associate with the rich and famous, and those that tend to be involved in scrapbooking aren't usually lauded in the media for their incredible skills at scrapping.


However, there are a number of people who have been involved in the hobby over the years that deserve to be noted, even if it is only by the people who view the art of scrapbooking as valuable.

1.     John Poole

Perhaps the most famous of all scrapbookers, simply for the fact that he is regarded as the father of the hobby as it exists. In 1826, a year after the first real examples of scrapbooks went on sale, Poole published ‘Manuscript Gleanings and Literary Scrapbook’, a book that was filled with different etching styles, tips on what kinds of trinkets should be kept, and different methods of storing those trinkets in the book.

2.     Thomas Jefferson

That’s right. The third president of the United States of America, and Founding Father of the nation was a scrapbooker. He probably didn’t feel too strongly about acid-free paper, fun fonts or card stocks, but he did use a scrapbook to collect newspaper clippings that were relevant to his time as president, which allowed him to store his memories and the proof of his impact on the world in one place.

3.     Mark Twain

Mark Twain, most famously known for writing The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, created a specific kind of scrapbook, capitalizing quite well on the craze that had started coming to fruition in the USA during his lifetime. He is credited with inventing an adhesive scrapbook with pre-pasted pages. This invention earned him an estimated $50 000, which during the 19th century was quite a lot of money.

4.     Lisa Bearnson

Credited with bringing modern scrapbooking into the public eye, Bearnson started the popular scrapbooking publication ‘Creating Keepsakes’, which taught newcomers the art of scrapbooking and how to best preserve their memories, much as John Poole had done during the advent of the activity.

5.     Ali Edwards

Having started scrapbooking in 2002, Edwards is credited with popularizing the term ‘Life artist’to describe scrapbookers who are able to use their craft to tell detailed stories about their lives and the lives of others. By using photographs and various methods of storytelling, Ali Edwards has garnered herself quite the reputation as one of the most innovative scrappers out there today.


Written by Wesley Geyer

Quote of the day

Quote of the day

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10 Great scrapbooking tips for beginners

Many people who want to start getting in to scrapbooking struggle with it and end up talking themselves out of it, simply because they have no idea where to start. Much like any other activity or hobby, scrapbooking can take on many forms, and although there aren't any rules that need to be strictly followed, there are many things that you should consider when looking to get into the art of scrapbooking.

 

1.     No place to write out your journaling? Journal on a tag or a piece of cardstock and tuck it neatly behind a photo. Here's where you can write more heartfelt words without others looking at it too.

 

2.     Choose a focal-point photo. Treat other photos as "accessories" that help you to tell the rest of the story. As we read from left to right, the top-left hand corner is an excellent point for your focal-point photo when you have several photos you want to use on your layout.

 

3.     Cut a piece of patterned paper into a large curved shape and attach it to your cardstock. It instantly creates visual interest to your background. You can use freehand, bowls, plates and anything round to help you draw the curved shape.

 

4.     No place to write out your journaling? Journal on a tag or a piece of cardstock and tuck it neatly behind a photo. Here's where you can write more heartfelt words without others looking at it too.

 

5.     Don't throw away your soda tabs! Save them and use them as "buckle" on your ribbons. If you want, you can sand the rough edge down a bit and even paint on them to match the color of your ribbon.

 

6.     Add more texture to your cardstock by crumbling it. Cardstock can be quite stiff, so runs it under a drizzle of water to soften it. Then start crumpling the cardstock. To dry it, flatten it out and use a towel to absorb the moisture. Let it dry completely before using it.

 

7.     Personalize your layout with your handwritten journaling. Lightly draw some straight lines with a pencil, sketch in your words, then go over them with a pigment-ink pen. Erase off the pencil marks, and you'll have almost perfect handwriting.

 

8.     You don't always need a page title. Sometimes your journaling is sufficient for the page. Simply writing one or two words in your journaling in capitals might be enough to convey the main story of the page.

 

9.     Give your layout a edgy or casual look by using staples to fasten journaling blocks, page titles or page accents. Use fabric as your background design or cut it up in strips and use them as ribbons for your layouts.

 

10.  Do you love the stitched-look but can't sew or you want a simpler method? Use rub-on stitches or use a fine-tip pen and draw the dashes to resemble the stitched-look without needle and thread!

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How will you be spending your 67 Minutes for Mandela Day? 

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7 Ways Reading Can Change Your Life:

- Belonging
- Empathy
- Humilty
- Self-knowledge
- Confidence
- Presence
- Joy
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Inspiring scrapbooking quotes

If you speak to anyone who has recently started scrapbooking, or even anyone who has been doing it for a long time, they will tell you that they have simply been bitten by the scrapbooking bug. It seems, from the outside, to be a slightly boring or childish thing to do, but many scrapbookers claim that it is an incredibly fun, and very creative and stimulating activity that can be taken in any direction you want.

Most scrapbookers will also tell you that one of the most important things for successful and fun scrapbooking is inspiration, and looking for it in the right places can really make the difference when it comes to starting and catching the bug in the beginning. Here are some scrapbook related quotes that will (hopefully) inspire you to start joining in the craze

 

"Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or doing it better”- John Updike

"And I'll bury my soul in a scrapbook, with the photographs there and the moths.”- Leonard Cohen

"Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun." - Mary Lou Cook

 

"I've spent most of my money scrapbooking and eating out. the rest I've pretty much wasted.”- Unknown

"Life is just a scrapbook waiting for us to put it on acid free paper”- Unknown

"There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer”- Ansel Adams

"The more organized you are, the more time you have to scrapbook.”- Lisa Bearnson

The History of Fabric Painting

 Being the incredibly expressive and creative species that we are, it is no surprise that we have been creating art for as long as we have known how to, or at least for as long as we have had the resources to actually create art.

Fabric painting, both as an art form as a type of symbolism, showing various messages, giving status to royals and people of power, etc., has been around since at least 3000 B.C, the earliest date at which printing blocks have been discovered in various parts of the ancient world.

Using these blocks, weavers and artisans used minerals and colours created from plants and animals to leave printed patterns and symbols on fabrics, which were then sold or given as gifts to elders and affluent members of society. By 300 B.C, painted fabrics were common among even regular people in India, and would soon become popular around the world.

One of the most common uses of fabric paint was for the creation of house flags which were carried into battle to show which families were being represented. The patterns and colours used were personalized to each family or city, and were later used to brand clothing and all kinds of possessions, and even weapon sheathes and homes.

By around 1000 B.C, a form of fabric paining called Kalamkari, literally meaning ‘pen work’was developed in India, and made use of brushes made from animal hair, sticks and bamboo shoots to draw patterns on cloths. While cotton sheets were most commonly used, as they allow the paint to be absorbed easier, later examples of silk painting has been found, obviously from after the artists found ways of making it hold the paint properly.

By around 200 A.D, as painted fabrics were traded and sold to other societies as the world started to expand and explorers began discovering new worlds, different techniques started forming in countries such as China and Japan, who commonly used stencils and resists in order to create even more detailed patterns in a shorter time than it would take if done completely by hand.

These techniques, while they have obviously changed over the last 19 centuries, remain commonly used to this day. We make use of much more advanced tools and paints, which allow us to both, make fabric art that lasts a long time, while increasing the variety of colours we are able to make use of in painting.


Written by: Wesley Geyer
Creative writer

Six Tips for Creating Incredible Fabric Paintings

Whether it’s your first time trying your hand at fabric painting, or you’ve been doing it for a while, and are just looking to get better and change up your style, or if you’re having some trouble getting something to come out the way you want it, asking the Internet for help is always going to be your first port of call.

There are too many tips that can be given to aspiring fabric painters to be covered in one simple article, but a lot of the fun of learning to paint using a new medium, or challenging yourself to getting better at fabric painting is in giving it a shot yourself and learning from your own mistakes.

Here is a short list of tips to help you get started, and some things you should remember before getting started: 

1. If a fabric is loosely woven, the paint you’re using might seep through the threads before it's dry. This will reduce the intensity of the colors and leave less paint sealed into the fabric, meaning that it could also wash out quicker and become patchy. A finely woven fabric is also easier to paint detail on than a loosely woven one.

2. You’ll want to wash the material you’re using before starting the painting process in order to remove any sizing added during manufacture which may prevent the paint from adhering to the surface. It also gives it a chance to shrink, if it's going to. To test whether a piece of fabric needs to be washed beforehand, drop a little bit of water on it. If it beads up on the surface, it needs washing because there are chemicals soaked into it that are preventing anything from being absorbed. If it sinks in, the paint you're going to use will also likely soak into it and get locked up permanently.

3. Wetting the fabric with clean water before painting it encourages colors to flow into each other, like in a watercolor. But don't add too much water, as it'll dilute the colors; the fabric should be damp, not soaking.

4. Remember when painting a t-shirt to insert something a few sheets of newspaper, a bit of card or plastic inside the shirt so the paint doesn't seep through onto the back of the shirt.

5. Stencils can make fabric painting easier. To get the best look when stenciling, begin by applying the paint with a sponge to keep the paint from leaking out under the stencil.

6. Heat set the fabric paint to protect it in the washing machine. You can do that in one of two ways: hold a hot iron over the painted section without touching the paint, or turn the garment inside out and ironing over the opposite side of the fabric for five minutes or so. Wait at least 24 hours after painting before trying to heat it up, or the paint will loosen and might run into each other or seem put of the material.

Written by Wesley Geyer

Creative writer

What is the difference between acrylic paint and fabric paint?

There are many people who believe that it is perfectly okay to paint on fabric with a regular acrylic paint, and many more who believe that you should only use fabric paint when working with fabric.

The difference between the two kinds of paints is something that should be considered before making your choice, however, since it will affect how successful your painting is, and what can be done with it afterwards.

Fabric paint, for instance, contains a binding agent that is specifically designed to cling onto fabrics, and will adhere better than acrylic paint will, since it is thicker and more likely to stick only at a surface level.

You can easily turn an acrylic paint into a fabric-suitable paint with special mediums. When mixed equally, the medium adds the adhesive agent that is found in fabric paint to the acrylic, which will allow it to stick more successfully and permanently.

Standard acrylic paint, however, should only be applied to fabric if the fabric does not need to drape, or to be loose at all, such as a curtain, a t-shirt or a flag. Acrylic paint, when dry, will harden and create a layer over the material, so any bending that is done under the paint may cause cracks in the paint over time, whereas fabric paint seeps into the material, leaving it free to move around without cracking or chipping off.

Both types of paint are water resistant once dry, but in order to securely set fabric paint; it is advised that you set it using a source of heat, such as an iron or a blow dryer. Once that is done, washing the fabric will not cause the paint to chip or fade in any way. Acrylic paint, however, even though it is water resistant when dry, is more likely to crack under heat in the washing machine if it hasn't been mixed with the medium mixer mentioned above.

Written by Wesley Geyer
Creative writer 

Top 5 books that have been turned into movies

With many classic books being turned into movies ever so often, there is always the big debate as to whether the movies based on books, are ever as good as the books themselves. 

Despite the debates, many book lovers flock to the cinema’s to watch their favourite books come to life on the big screen. 

This list of the top five books that were turned into movies contains some of the most popular bestsellers and blockbusters.

1. The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games is a 2008 science fiction novel by the American writer Suzanne Collins. It is written in the voice of 16 year old Katniss Everdeen who lives in the dystopian, post-apocalyptic nation of Panem in North America. Since its release, The Hunger Games has been translated into 26 languages, and is the first in the Hunger Games trilogy. The film adaption released in 2012, was met with critical acclaim.

2. Harry Potter

Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the life and adventures of the main character, a wizard named Harry Potter and his friends Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Since the release of the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, on 30 June 1997, the books have gained immense popularity, critical acclaim and commercial success worldwide. The last four books consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books in history.

3. Twilight

A series of four vampire-themed, fantasy romance novels by American author Stephenie Meyer. It charts a period in the life of Isabella "Bella" Swan, a teenage girl who moves to Forks, Washington, and falls in love with a 104-year-old vampire named Edward Cullen. Since the release of the first novel, Twilight, in 2005, the books have gained immense popularity and commercial success around the world. The series is most popular among young adults; and the four books have won multiple awards.

4. The Hobbit  

A fantasy novel and children's book by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim. The Hobbit came to life and was made into a film in 2012. The Hobbit follows the quest of home-loving hobbit Bilbo Baggins to win a share of the treasure guarded by the dragon, Smaug. Bilbo's journey takes him from light-hearted, rural surroundings into more sinister territory.

5. The Chronicles of Narnia

A series of seven high fantasy novels by author C.S. Lewis. It is considered a classic of children's literature and is the author's best-known work, having sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages. Set in the fictional realm of Narnia, a fantasy world of magic, mythical beasts, and talking animals, the series narrates the adventures of various children who play central roles in the unfolding history of that world. The movie was also met with critical claim when it was adapted into a film.

Source: Wikipedia

Written by: Thulisile Khumalo

What is the difference between fiction and non-fiction?

Fiction

This refers to a book or piece of literature that is created from imagination. These are books that are made up by the author, and are not true.

This type of literature or book may involve science fiction; fantasy; mysteries; romance and crime thrillers. The fiction storyline is made up by the author, and can be based on a certain time period and event in that period, but the characters and the sub storyline of the characters are made up. 

Such examples of fiction include JK Rowling’s popular Harry Potter books, which the author created from her imagination - as none of it was based on anything true. Another example is Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, as the characters and storyline were also made up.

Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical, cinematic or musical work.

Non-fiction

While fiction describes work of the imagination, non-fiction contrasts this. Non-fiction refers to books or literature based on facts - literature about real things, people, events and places.

Therefore, non-fiction books are factual books that deliver details or information about specific things or events. They are stories based on real facts and information.

Such examples of non-fiction work include memoirs, biographies, historic facts and other works that are factual.

Written by: Thulisile Khumalo

Why is reading so important?

For many people, there seems to be so many other things to do with one’s time than pick up a book to read. However reading is important for a variety of reasons. 

Let’s take a look at some of the fundamental reasons why reading is important:

1. Reading develops the mind 

The mind is a powerful human tool that needs exercise. Reading and understanding written words is one way the mind grows in its ability. Reading also helps young children develop their language skills. Through reading your ability to listen is enhanced, as it helps you focus on what someone else is communicating.

2. Improve understanding

Through reading, you begin to improve your understanding of a variety of topics. The more you read, the more you understand the world more. Therefore, through reading, you create a structured path towards a better understanding and better actions to take in the future.

3. You discover new things

Through reading you are able to expose yourself to new things, new information and new ways to solve problems. A person who knows how to read can educate themselves in any area of life they are interested in. Exploration begins from reading and understanding.

4. Enhance communication skills

Communication is the most important tool which can be transmitted through reading. When you read, you understand more and thus you can communicate better with people. You are able to connect and share information with people. Reading connects you with the world.

5. Boost imagination and creativity

Reading develops the creative side of people – it exposes people to a world of imagination, showing them that nothing is impossible in this world. When you read you are able to travel, without moving. As André Maurois says “The art of reading is in great part that of acquiring a better understanding of life, from one’s encounter with it in a book.”

There you have it, the reasons why reading is important - now there is no reason for not picking up a book and exploring it. 

Written by: Thulisile Khumalo