389. What Was the First Book Ever Written? (English Vocabulary Lesson)

About this episode

This episode explores the history of books and writing while teaching English vocabulary.

Humans have been speaking languages for tens of thousands of years. We told stories around fires, passed down myths from parents to children, and memorised important information about survival and history. But for a very long time, nobody could write anything down. Then, at some point, humans invented writing. Writing allowed people to record laws, preserve stories, collect knowledge, and communicate across generations. Eventually, writing gave us books. Today, I want to explore the history of books, from ancient clay tablets in Mesopotamia to modern audiobooks and e-books on smartphones. We’ll look at the origins of writing, the oldest surviving texts, the first true “books,” the world’s first novels, the printing revolution, the bestselling books in history, and finally… the future of reading itself. And we will do all of this while learning some new vocabulary and practicing your English listening comprehension. Conversation Club - ⁠https://thinkinginenglish.blog/patreon/conversation-clubs/⁠⁠ TRANSCRIPT - https://thinkinginenglish.blog/2026/05/25/389-what-was-the-first-book-ever-written-english-vocabulary-lesson/ AD Free Episode…

People in this episode

Host: Thomas Wilkinson

Topics covered

• history of books
• origins of writing
• vocabulary learning
• English listening comprehension
• e-books
• printing revolution

Keywords

• first book
• writing history
• ancient texts
• novels
• bestselling books
• future of reading

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Conversation Club, Patreon, YouTube Channel

Books & works: What Was the First Book Ever Written?

More episodes of Thinking in English

• 391. Why Is the UAE Leaving OPEC? And What Is OPEC Anyway? (English Vocabulary Lesson) · June 8, 2026 · 22 min
• 390. What are the “New” Seven Wonders of the World? (English Vocabulary Lesson) · June 1, 2026 · 32 min
• 388. Is the American Dream Dead? (English Vocabulary Lesson) · May 18, 2026 · 26 min
• 387. Why Are Some People Always Late? The Cultural Meaning of Time (English Vocabulary Lesson) · May 11, 2026 · 24 min
• 386. Who Was Leonardo Da Vinci? (English Vocabulary Lesson) · May 4, 2026 · 21 min
• 385. Should We Boycott the 2026 World Cup? (English Vocabulary Lesson) · April 27, 2026 · 22 min