A dog is a man's best friend. Diamonds are a girl's best friend. I'm sure you've heard of all that stuff. But did you also know that a book can be a great friend? If you didn't, this is for you.
I got into the habit of reading right since I was a little kid. It started off with those fairytales every little girl begins with. After that came the Enid Blyton phase of adventure followed by Nancy Drew and then Jeffrey Archer, Sydney Sheldon, Robin Cook, Arundhati Roy, Paulo Coehlo, Khaled Hosseini, Chetan Bhagat... the list goes on as the number of books I read increases. I love how a book can capture me into its world and present before me its scenes and characters that my imagination gives life to. It's a great way to escape the daily grind of reality. A book that holds my attention captivates me to the extent that I can feel the joy and the pain, the tension, the fear and the relief of the characters and their circumstances.
Reading also develops your vocabulary and sentence structure. It increases your knowledge of words and their usage. Of course there's more to reading than all of that. Andre Maurois said, 'The art of reading is in great part that of acquiring a better understanding of life from one's encounter with it in a book.'
With film directors adapting novels, more and more people would rather watch an adaptation than take the time to read a book. But why limit yourself to the director's perspective of the book when you've got an imaginative mind of your own? If you must watch the movie, read the book first so that you enjoy the book from your perspective, free from pre conceived notions about the appearance of the characters, the scenarios and the manner in which the story unfolds.
Modern technology with its gadgets like the kindle, the iphone, the ipod etc enable an individual to download ebooks. It's pretty convenient that way. Although I have to say that I prefer a book anyday. There's something about the rustle of the pages, the smell and the feel of a book that makes reading such a cherished experience for me.
'You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend' ~ Paul Sweeney
I got into the habit of reading right since I was a little kid. It started off with those fairytales every little girl begins with. After that came the Enid Blyton phase of adventure followed by Nancy Drew and then Jeffrey Archer, Sydney Sheldon, Robin Cook, Arundhati Roy, Paulo Coehlo, Khaled Hosseini, Chetan Bhagat... the list goes on as the number of books I read increases. I love how a book can capture me into its world and present before me its scenes and characters that my imagination gives life to. It's a great way to escape the daily grind of reality. A book that holds my attention captivates me to the extent that I can feel the joy and the pain, the tension, the fear and the relief of the characters and their circumstances.
Reading also develops your vocabulary and sentence structure. It increases your knowledge of words and their usage. Of course there's more to reading than all of that. Andre Maurois said, 'The art of reading is in great part that of acquiring a better understanding of life from one's encounter with it in a book.'
With film directors adapting novels, more and more people would rather watch an adaptation than take the time to read a book. But why limit yourself to the director's perspective of the book when you've got an imaginative mind of your own? If you must watch the movie, read the book first so that you enjoy the book from your perspective, free from pre conceived notions about the appearance of the characters, the scenarios and the manner in which the story unfolds.
Modern technology with its gadgets like the kindle, the iphone, the ipod etc enable an individual to download ebooks. It's pretty convenient that way. Although I have to say that I prefer a book anyday. There's something about the rustle of the pages, the smell and the feel of a book that makes reading such a cherished experience for me.
'You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend' ~ Paul Sweeney
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