Whether heard or read, stories designed to entertain us have been a part of most of our lives since we were children. The Epic of Gilgamesh, a mythical story about an important political figure, is the first non-religious book ever written. Whether novels or memoirs, stories offer the opportunity to become lost in a world other than our own, to explore and go on adventures. Learn how the first books came to be and why reading is such an important part of Western culture.

Fairytales were once stories considered suitable only for adult consumption. Well-known tales, like those written by the Brothers Grimm, were gory and macabre. Only as their popularity with adults declined, did writers begin to adapt these stories for children. These and more trivia about stories as entertainment are available on this Prezi presentation by Alton Newell

The world’s earliest surviving motion-picture film, showing actual consecutive action is called Roundhay Garden Scene. It is a short film directed by French inventor Louis Le Prince. While it is just 2.11 seconds long, it is technically a movie. Made in 1888, Le Prince could not have known the industry he had created. People have been enjoying stories as movies ever since. From silent pictures with dialogue on title cards that used music to convey emotion to the first black and white films where you could hear the actor’s voices, to what we know today, we have been telling stories through film for nearly 150 years. Check out the American Film Institute’s recommendations for the top 100 films of all time.