a printed or digital collection of words on pages used for reading.
Questions tagged [books]
19 questions
67
votes
4 answers
Do 33% of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives?
I've seen this statistic reported on several sites (for example, Those Who Don't Build Must Burn and Want To Do Meaningful Work? Keep Reading. Literally), along with a list of other startling numbers.
33% of high school graduates never read another…
Bill the Lizard
- 902
- 3
- 10
- 24
46
votes
3 answers
Has it been mathematicaly determined that the Voynich Manuscript is not gibberish?
A post on the CthulhuTech forum makes the following claim about the Voynich Manuscript:
Actually doing abit of digging and the view is very spilt those who feel its a cipher of some kind have shown mathmaticly that its not gibberish. But it can be…
oosterwal
- 4,305
- 1
- 26
- 37
43
votes
1 answer
Did JK Rowling ever describe Harry Potter goblins as "hook-nosed"?
There's a persistent argument online that the goblins from Harry Potter are anti-semitic caricatures, and most critics focus in on the fact that Rowling allegedly presents them with hooked noses:
From Forbes:
While goblins are often depicted in…
GGMG-he-him
- 1,219
- 3
- 14
- 13
33
votes
1 answer
Did Amazon remove copies of 1984 from Kindles?
I read on one of the Free Software Foundation's websites the following claim:
This is not conspiracy -- we know this capability exists because Amazon has previously deleted copies of 1984 from users' Kindles.
I found this very implausible. Did…
ike
- 4,950
- 1
- 20
- 52
31
votes
3 answers
Do the most popular college books in the US include "The Communist Manifesto" & "The Republic"?
The mainstream media in China have reported several times that the most popular college books in the US include "The Communist Manifesto" & "The Republic". I have always thought that is "fake news" until someone published the quoted source here (it…
Qiulang
- 965
- 1
- 5
- 14
30
votes
1 answer
Is the Bible the most read book?
I have often heard that the most popular book is the Bible, but it seems to me that, for example, classical Indian books as the Mahabharata or the Chinese Four Books and Five Classics may be more popular. Does any one have any source related to…
Zenon
- 1,864
- 1
- 16
- 18
22
votes
1 answer
Is it harmful to read while moving?
My dad has always told me not to read things (just books/papers inside the car) while the car was moving. When I asked why, he said that it puts too much strain on your eyes because the book/paper is moving around. Is this true?
Same for reading a…
Jason
- 495
- 1
- 5
- 9
20
votes
1 answer
Is Hitler's book "Mein Kampf" a bestseller in Muslim countries?
This article from the Telegraph makes the claim that Adolf Hitler's infamous manifesto, Mein Kampf is a bestseller in the Palestinian territories:
AN Arabic translation of Hitler's Mein Kampf which has become a
bestseller in the Palestinian…
March Ho
- 18,688
- 12
- 81
- 109
15
votes
1 answer
Is an amber background color better for reading at night?
Google Books app has the Night Light mode. It detects the time of the day and adjust the light accordingly.
Is there any scientific study that backs up such statement?
Update:
Text from image:
As the sun sets, Night Light gradually filters the…
marcanuy
- 446
- 2
- 15
14
votes
1 answer
Is there a Pearson's Nursing textbook that contains cultural descriptions of reaction to pain?
This looks authentic, but I wonder whether it's just an elaborate hoax:
Source: https://www.dailydot.com/irl/racist-nursing-textbook/
Jews may be vocal and demanding of assistance
...
Arabs/Muslims may not request pain medicine but instead…
Quora Feans
- 2,637
- 1
- 19
- 29
14
votes
1 answer
Does the average software developer not own (or has never read) a book on software development?
The book 'Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams' by Timothy Lister and Tom DeMarco makes an unreferenced claim that:
"The average software developer, for example, doesn't own a single
book on the subject of his or her work, and hasn't ever…
combinatorics
- 494
- 1
- 4
- 11
7
votes
1 answer
Did Jiang Zemin write an unpublished memoir?
It's been claimed in connection with the US bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade that:
In February 2011 The Sunday Times published an article stating that an unpublished memoir by former Chinese President Jiang Zemin recounts how Serbian…
Fizz
- 57,051
- 18
- 175
- 291
6
votes
0 answers
Was every programmer at Microsoft given a copy of Code Complete?
Did, at some point, every new programmer at Microsoft get given a copy of Code Complete by Steve McConnell?
rick
- 169
- 1
6
votes
0 answers
African Pentecostal Witch Hunting Guide real?
I found this online: "The African Pentecostal Church's Guide of Inquisitions of Witches and Magicians in the African Continent - 1989 (Translated from the Swahili Manuscript of the late Bakari Sudi Jabari)"
I can't find any reliable sources to…
Cees Timmerman
- 4,673
- 3
- 31
- 49
5
votes
1 answer
Did the New York Times misleadingly remove Alex Jones' book from the NYT Bestseller's list?
Tucker Carlson claimed in a recent segment that The New York Times lied by leaving Alex Jones' new book The Great Reset off its rightful position of number one on its bestsellers' list:
Tucker
Carlson says that the New York Times lied about what…
TheAsh
- 3,006
- 5
- 19
- 41