IMAGINE A WORLD WITHOUT BOOKS

By Eniola Olatunji

Books are my companion, a storehouse of information, the only thing that excites and inspires my imagination. Imagining a world without the numerous incredible works of literature available today is certainly hard to do.

A world without books would be one in which a great deal of knowledge would have been lost. Books contain a wealth of information. If you do not know how to cook, there are recipe books. If you do not know the meaning of a word, there are dictionaries. Information basically resides in books. Long ago, knowledge used to be transmitted verbally from generation to generation. Unfortunately, the knowledge often got distorted in translation and transmission. The invention of paper, and eventually, books has solved this issue. Shakespeare's works from more than two centuries ago are still being read today. Imagine being without books and missing these literary masterpieces.

In the presence or absence of friends, books can be a person's close companion and bring happiness. Books are non-judgmental and can give us diverse insights. In secondary school, I overheard a group of girls discussing a romance novel they had read.  The excitement in their eyes and joy in their voices as they discussed their latest read is something I will never forget. Their joy is part of the reason why I am a writer – to give similar joy to my readers.

Numerous organizations, professions, and aspects of daily life are dependent on books. If not for literature, universities, schools, degrees, and credentials would not exist. There was no such thing as a professorship, undergraduate studies, etc. before the invention of books but the invention of books opened new domains of existence. If it weren't for books that teach various occupations such as law, medicine, engineering, etc. they wouldn't exist. While some of these professions partly existed before the invention of books, they became wholesome and much more advanced after the invention of books. This is because the human memory has limit so books serve as an extension of our memory.

One benefit of reading is the increased awareness it fosters. People in Nigeria only knew about happenings within their immediate environment. Their knowledge of events was highly  constrained. But today, even if you don't leave the continent of Africa, you can stay abreast of happenings and cultures from around the world.  All thanks to literature, I am aware that Americans utilize the dollar as their unit of exchange and mostly have white skin. The fact that books exist is a wonderful thing.

It can be argued that books are not so necessary, after all, generations lived before the first book was invented around 3000 BCE but even the tumultuous history of the invention of books prove that mankind has always needed a way to document and pass information. I was born into a world with books and cannot imagine one without it. Books are like oxygen – very important for sustenance. Everything in our world is tied to a book whether physical or eBooks. Books are so important, even religions like Christianity and Islam had to codify their statutes in Holy Books.

For access to a wide variety of books, ZODML has got you covered. You should visit our community library at 196, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi and get reading.