That’s the thing about books.They let you travel without moving your feet ― Jhumpa Lahiri
For me world was always full of sports and movies.As a kid i watched movies with my parents and with time i developed a taste about what i liked and disliked.
I read a lot of comics – Phantom,and few regular hindi comics – Chacha Chaudhary,Nagraj,Super Commando Dhruv,Doga from Raj Comics,Angaara,Fighter Toads(a sweet ripoff of TNMT) and i enjoyed them a lot – sometimes i miss those comics days a lot.
Nagraj in Promotional art (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
But as time passed i literally quit reading books – you might want to ask what happened ? well Internet happened.
Due to this blogging explosion - i started reading blogs and i read a lot of them – everyday without fail – but never really thought about reading novels.One of my buddies Prashant Sable once asked me over one of our endless discussions on movies,music,stories -
Why don’t you try reading books?
I requested him to suggest something different- he smiled and handed me – Gang leader for a day by Sudhir Venkatesh and asked me to read it while i was traveling back home. I read it and somehow it just kept me glued – though it was more like a thesis/research than a novel – i read it and thanked him.
As i reached home i spotted The Alchemist lying on the shelf and asked my sister if it was a good read – she said yeah go for it – in next 2 days i was done reading it too.What i am coming to is that i enjoy reading – all i needed was a push towards the world of words.
Keep reading books, but remember that a book is only a book, and you should learn to think for yourself –Maxim Gorky
My goal is to read – learn – apply and repeat the process. It is about reading more wonderful stories (along with all the movies i watch).
There are various reasons why reading is fun and entertaining for me – i am listing 3 reasons below :
- Creating a world of your own : While reading a story you read the descriptions,settings and characters but you imagine it all by yourself - so for every story you read – you imagine a world of your own – and since you are the creator of this world – the experience is more fulfilling.
- Experiencing a different point of view : While reading you might find situations you encountered in your life but the author explains it in a totally different manner – forcing you to think and interpret it a way you are not used to.
- A Good book keeps me away from internet : Even if it is for few minutes trust me this is a big one – I read at night everyday – it can be a single page or 50 pages and it cuts some time away from internet.
Few advantages of reading also include :
- Improved concentration as it makes you sit(sometimes you end up lying) at one place and focus on just that page.
- It also improves vocabulary and it helps in improving writing too.
- It is a good way to reduce stress and get a good sleep.(I am sure you remember as soon as we were asked read our textbooks the magical sleep took over
)
I agree to the quote mentioned below :
A book is a gift you can open again and again ― Garrison Keillor
I now consider reading books ( i read slowly – 1-50 pages a day) a form of entertainment which allows me to take breaks and resume it when i like it (yes one can do that with movies too – but movies remain my first love and once i start – i finish the movie ).
However this is not to say that i am always surrounded by books – this is an indicator that i have slowly started appreciating books and the power of written word(Books or eBooks).
Having said that i still enjoy reading blogs but i have kept a list of selected few.
Books i read recently : Immortals of Meluha,The Great Gatsby and How I Braved Anu Aunty & Co-Founded A Million Dollar Company.
Your Thoughts :
I am well aware that there are lots of readers, book experts in my circle and there might be few readers who know a lot more than me about books. I request and encourage you to suggest more books, share your experiences and stories.
Related articles
- Kids Are Adopting eBooks Faster Than Their Parents, Scholastic Reports (the-digital-reader.com)
- Looking Back At The Great Gatsby (101books.net)
Read, read and read… that’s all what we can!
and that is exactly we will do along with watch watch watch