My Reading Journey

Reading was my hobby since childhood. During my school days, my father used to buy children magazines for us very often. ‘Champak’, ‘Nandan’, ‘Balhans’ and few other Indian child magazines like these were a frequent visitor to my house, mostly in Hindi, and sometimes in English. We used to solve the puzzles and riddles in those magazines together with our mother. They were always the most awaited thing of the magazine. I remember I was so fond of reading these magazines that I wanted to miss school to stay at home and read them and in school I used to miss my newly bought colorful book.

Later I discovered the huge world of novels in my school library. Once I had issued ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’ by Mark Twain and tried reading it but could not finish it that time (I guess I was too young to finish reading a novel back then). Later, I got really interested in Indian fiction novels and read lot of them. Once I started understanding the amazing world of novels and writing styles, I explored more and read the famous classics like ‘Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Bronte, ‘Little Women’ by Louisa May Alcott, all time popular like ‘Tuesdays with Morrie’ by Mitch Albom, ‘The Kite Runner’ by Khaled Hosseini, ‘To kill a mockingbird’ by Harper Lee and many more. I kept reading, though slow at times but never stopped. I am a slow reader; I stop to admire the intricacy and beauty of words and described scenes; for what else is the beauty of literature?

Last year I read 22 books (I know that’s not a big number but it is for me as it is the max number of books I ever read in a year). During the time when I was expecting, reading was my most favourite activity. I selected light reads and used to read them day and night. It used to soothe me and lighten up my anxiety levels.

Personally I believe reading provides an escape from the reality (not because reality isn’t nice but we all need a break at times), takes us to another world where we can breathe and live. In other words, one can live two lives at a time. Reading may not be enjoyable for everyone, but I think they haven’t tasted the bliss yet.

What’s your take on reading? Do you read often or you are a movie person? What’s your favourite genre of novels? Share your thoughts on reading books.