From the time small babies are able to sit up they should have books to look at.  Reading books is an essential and integral part of our lives.  Even when there are no words in the books it encourages and nurtures the child to look at books in a vibrant and positive way.  Moms and dads sit with their kids at night, reading stories to them and showing them the wonderful pictures that will encourage them to investigate books in the future.  Giving your child the love for reading is incredibly important.  It will help them with everything they choose to do in their future lives.  I remember sitting with my brother and sisters in front of the glowing gas fire in my bedroom wrapped up in my dressing gown curled against my father’s side while he read to us of Norse Gods and Greek myths and legends.  This fostered my love of books that I have to this day.  I read every spare moment that I have and I am a member of the local library which allows you to take out eight books every three weeks and more if you are sick and have the extra time to read. My dad had a library of his own comprising hundreds of wonderful books on every conceivable subject, from Ballads to the History of Ireland, Language to Poetry and Art Nouveau.  One room in our house (wherever it was) was always covered in books.  It’s what made him what he was.  Books gave him an identity. 

Types of books

Books come in many different genre styles and concepts. There are books that you may need to gain information, Dictionaries, Thesaurus’ books on Language and Grammar, Historical books based on fact, Autobiographies, Biographies, Gardening books, DIY books, books on ships, cars, horses and dogs, all books about factual subjects that can impart important information to you. And that you may use on an ongoing basis to gather information, reference books. There are books that are fictional that are fun to read and that are not based on facts, novels of every style and type Crime novels, Thrillers, Historical novels, Romance, Science fiction, Adventure, Mystery, Horror, War and whatever else you are interested in.  They should capture your imagination and give you enjoyment in you free time.

Picture books

Some books have no words, just pictures and these can be for either children or adults.  Adult books would generally be the photographic books about design products or images of countries, sporting images or photographs by professional photographers, beautiful pictures to sit and look at books that have no function except to be extremely beautiful and to introduce you to the beauty that surrounds you. Children’s books with no writing can either be for the very young child as a first book to give an idea of some initial concepts of life.  Up and Down, Black and White, Stop and Go, Colours or Shapes and many other simple concepts.  Other wordless books can be comic strips or animated books these hold the imagination of both adult and child alike. Books have always played a huge part in my life and have helped me in my career as an artist, teacher and facilitator. 

Craft Books

Craft books have a huge range of subjects and can be utilized to learn new skills and abilities.  Whether it is Batik or Metalwork there is always something to be learned from these books.  Some go into great detail and are for the professional craft worker/artist others are for the novice craft worker and can do a great deal to encourage a person to start a new craft or hobby.  Some craft books are simply produced for their decorative qualities (coffee table books) and are beautiful to look and marvel at. Craft books for children are often produced with minimal writing and lots of pictures to enable the younger child to attempt projects for fun.  These are extremely valuable for your child and make great presents for Christmas.  They often come with some of the materials that are needed to make the projects.  Some examples are Knitting/crochet, Paper craft books like craft boxes and cards and paper jewellery. 

Art books

Art books introduce you to the work of artists that you might never see in reality, with full colour photographs it is possible to get a real insight into what the artist was trying to achieve and the information they provide tells you about the life of the artist and where they find their inspiration.  This may also inspire you to produce work of your own which is a wonderful end product.

Books are a part of life and though the printed word is under threat from electronic books, reading books will always have an important part to play in most people’s lives.