Nowadays, we try to find happiness in many things. One of the simplest way I gain it is by reading books. You cannot buy happiness but you can buy books, and that’s kind of the same thing.
Reading is something which has to be cultivated from childhood. My first experience in reading was when I was barely six; that’s with “Tinkle“, the most-loved children’s comic. Though I did not understand most of the stories, I was fascinated by the colourful pages with attractive illustrations. I would only read Suppandi jokes, which were my initial dose of humour. As I grew up to be eight years old, adventures, fairy tales and witty stories of Tenali Raman and Akbar-Birbal caught my eye.
Over the years I have grown much attached to books and have moved on to novels and full-fledged books. In fact, while travelling there is always a book or two in my bag. This reading habit of mine improved my vocabulary to a great extent. I now can boast of a mini library of my own, containing 160+ books. These are just paperbacks and hardcovers. I have around 80 eBooks on my Kindle.
Books are more precious to me than anything else. When it comes to my books, I’m very stubborn to part with them. And hence, I prefer owning books over borrowing them as they can be with me forever.
New technology has made books easily accessible by introducing e-readers like Kindle and Nook. While initially I was against eBooks, I realised how convenient and easy to use they are. I purchased a Kindle, partly because I had no more space for books on my bookshelf ๐ Nonetheless, book lovers always will prefer a printed version. I can vouch for it that those who adore books wouldn’t mind being stranded in a library or a bookstore.
Newspapers, magazines, journals, weeklies also contribute toward increasing knowledge. There is a wide array of genres to choose from such as hobbies, sports, health, food, writing, education, lifestyle etc. Books have that capacity in them to transport us to any corner of the world. They widen our horizon and change perspectives in heaps and bounds.
I don’t really have a “favourite author” as such. But I do love the works of Robin Sharma, Sudha Murty, Amish Tripathi, Sidin Vadukut, Nicholas Sparks and L.M. Montgomery. It’s the concept/story of the book which attracts me, the author is secondary.
So, dear readers, please do leave a comment about your reading habits, favorite books and authors. I would love to know!
Until the next time, stay blessed!
P.S. I still re-read all the Tinkle comics I’ve collected over the years. ๐
The Soulful Nib 
Well written Chetana! Even I prefer the story over the author. I still love reading fantasy fiction and especially the Kind where they inspired by mythology and try to give it a more logical approach like Amish Tripathi and Rick Riordan have done.
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Tinkle is the best!!
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Yes!!!
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Actually relate to the point about the feel of having a book in hand rather than reading an ebook ๐
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Good Chetna’s.Reading is really a very good hobby.Will never feel bored if one has inculcated this habit
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Totally relate to this post! Expecially the part where you used to read tinkle and laugh at suppandi jokes ๐
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Very true.. Books are one’s best friends..
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Very true… Books are one’s best friends…
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My experience about reading books is I hardly read any book on my own apart from syllabus text books. I get a good sleep whenever I read newspapers too. Two years back, when I lost my dad I needed more support to overcome this loss. That’s the time when sis suggested me to read a best seller “Dying to be me” ( I am not great in recalling authors name, I leave it to google). With lot of hesitation and to just keep my word, I ordered that book and sent a book pic the day I received, to my sis on what’s app ๐. It took me some days to open the book though. I loved that book so much that I was dying to read more. Now I always keep Bhagwad geetha with me and read it very often. Even now I get sleep while reading books but just a small difference that is, now I hug my book tightly with a smile while sleeping. ๐๐
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Dear Chetu, Reading good books form good authors is a very good habit, which not only imparts you knowledge but also modulates your outlook towards life by improving your interpreting & thinking ability about any subject /information. Having a good book is like having many friends but having a good friend is like having a library, according to Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. A genuine, real, good & humble friend will have a great influence on your personality & character. So, along with reading habits , also have a good & trustworthy friend. It is said that, a good book should be read as carefully as it is written , only then you Will understand what the author is trying to convey to the reader. Reading, studying & learning are entirely different entities altogether. First, you become aware of something, then you understand, later realise, know, feel, internalise, interpret, process it in the mind & then come out with your own version /wisdom. Wisdom lies not in the amount of knowledge you aquire but lies in the art of its application. Useful & practical knowledge is different from ornamental knowledge. So, understanding what you have read will take a long long time & learning is a continuous process. Your level of thinking goes on changing with time ,&by more & more reading. So go on reading good books & this will definitely have profound influence on your thinking, words you speak & action (work ).
Every person is a book by himself / herself. So, try to observe every person with an intension to learn good things. Each person has many things to teach us which we don’t get in books. Chetu, my message is becoming too lengthy, l shall stop here.
Anyway your write up is good. You convey your ideas in a beautiful way. Keep writing. God bless. Sorry for delayed response.
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Thank you so much for your lovely comments and encouraging words. They will always be a source of motivation for me, and help me write better. ๐
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I love reading books too. When we were kids we used to read tinkle, Tintin, balamangala, gokulam etc when in college I used to read Daniel Steel s books. Now I mostly read books based on true stories, self help books etc. If you are interested then you can try reading these books, Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, the kite runner and a thousand splendid suns by Khaled hosseini. Sudha Murthy’s books are my favourite too.
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The books you’ve mentioned here are in my to read list! ๐
Glad to know someone shares the same love for books as I do.
Thank you for sharing and commenting! ๐
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I endorse your sentiments Chetana, technology can replace the feel of a book and the pleasure of turning pages!
Keep reading, writing and sharing….
May your pen never run dry.
Fellow book addict,
Vidya Shenoy
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I’m glad you could relate to it ๐ ๐
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