Page 8 - The Edge: Issue 5 2020

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From clay tablets to Kindle tablets, books have come a long way. Story by Adison Maxwell
Writing has been around since some of the earliest days of mankind and has evolved tremendously since. While today we have access to eBooks, audio books, and podcasts at the tip of our fingers, it wasn’t always so easy.
The invention of portable writing started in 3500 B.C.E., when Sumarians began to carve symbols into tablets- small slabs of clay. This was the first time in history that anybody had tried to transcribe events onto something portable that people could read. About one thousand years later (2400 B.C.E.), other ancient civilizations began to use a material called papyrus to make scrolls. Another one thousand years after that in 500-200 B.C.E., they began to use parchment in replacement of the papyrus. This parchment material was used for a long time after, and was the material on which America’s first book- “The Bay Psalm”- was written. Afterward, reaching the early 1900s, parchment was continuously used around the world.
From 1935-1945, these things had begun to change. The first big publishing company, Penguin Publishing, was born. Founded by Sir Allen Lane, this company was created in a time when paperback books were not overly popular to the public. He bought several high class titles, then printed over one million copies of them. This revolutionary concept of making good books available at affordable prices spread like wildfire throughout the world, and he soon had many competitors.
Then came the 80s, when books became more popular than ever before, and the first audio books on CDs were released. Ten years later, with the rise of Amazon, books were able
to be bought online for lower prices. While these advancements may have seemed to be
enormous
at the time, it’s nothing compared to what was next to come.
Beginning in the year 2000, eBooks became accessible to the public. Before this time, not many people had access to the few books that did exist in digital form. Even when they became accessible, these eBooks weren’t normally read, and people were skeptical of them. Then, in 2007, the first Kindle Fire was released. This tablet was made for the sole purpose of eBook reading, which many people weren’t a fan of. All in all, the Kindle Fire was originally a flop.
Then, in a turn of events, eBooks began to soar in popularity, with people around the world starting to read them. Amazon released additional models of the Kindle Fire, ones that could act as a normal tablet too, and these did extremely well. Audio books were also available on these Kindles.
Now here at Edgewood we have access to Sora (formerly known as Overdrive). This website is a free, digital library accessible to all students. Students may check out the ebooks that our school has bought, and once they are due they will automatically be returned. This program has improved the library process at both our school and schools around the country. Students can now have access to their books on computers or mobile devices. They don’t have to worry about damaging the book, returning it on time, or overdue fines. It is a stress-free experience which many students have grown to enjoy.
From clay tablets to Kindle tablets, books have come a long way. However, one thing remains the same- their importance. Whether it be the latest young adult novel, or the back of a cereal box, we are involved with writing daily. When we can appreciate its beginnings, we
can see how far we’ve come. We can also see how far we
have yet to go.
The Evolution of Books