Rare Must Read Books

When I started Not-So Boring Life I published a list of the most popular hobbies that people enjoy spending their spare time on. Topping that list, 26% of people enjoy reading as their primary way to relax in their spare time. What would you guess most people are reading though? I don’t really have the answer to that question but what I do know is that they aren’t reading an original copy of Poor Richard’s Almanac by Benjaman Franklin. The world is filled with must read books from authors like Galileo, Newton, Copernicus, Kepler, Einstein, or Darwin. However, books like these are locked away in the Library of Congress, other government archives, and personal libraries around the world. Over the last 10 years Octavo has been digitally photographing hundreds of these famous ‘must read’ works and releasing them on their website Rare Book Room.

Now you can see original copies of hundreds of different books and important documents including the Bill of Rights and Gutenberg ’s Bible of 1455. Hope you enjoy reading or perusing some of the world’s rarest documents!