So many books, so little time

Ever since I was a child who had just started learning to read and write, I have been in love with the English language. Sure, it’s not my native language, but I felt this thrill when I learnt new words or new ways to improve my grammar. As a person whose mind can’t spend too long on one topic, I spent hours in the library of my school reading books upon books on various genres. I loved the classics of Mark Twain and Charles Dicken as much as the fairy tales of Enid Blyton. There was just something that kept pulling me to read more and more stories. It was the one thing I couldn’t resist. My passion for reading fiction was born rather early in life when I would ask my mother to tell me the tales of Snow White and Cinderella over and over again. I would never tire of these stories. Maybe it was the way my mother said it or maybe it was the allure of knowing what was coming but wanting to hear it or maybe it was the story itself, I don’t know. But I could not go to sleep without hearing them. They are amazing stories after all.

When I was old enough to read on my own, I became addicted to comic books. I would read every single one I could lay my hands on. The comics I mostly had access to were moral stories or adventures. I had no idea something called super-hero comics even existed. I would read them at home and my school library. Sometimes I even borrowed from friends. This went on till I was ten. My sister kept trying to make me read proper novels. I kept refusing. One fine day, she locked up all my comics and brought home a novel from a nearby library. I had no choice but to read it and believe me, I put up quite a fight. I lost in the end. It was the beginning of a new phase in my life. I started reading my first ever novel: Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.

It took me over a week to finish the whole book but I fell in love with it. I enjoyed the way Huck and Tom prank all their friends. I realised at that moment that this is a whole new world. A person could be anything they want in a story. It was enthralling. That was the hook. I took the bait and have been hooked to reading books ever since. I gradually started going to the library by myself and started exploring the world of books. Soon I had read a bunch of classics and wanted to try something new.

The librarian suggested Enid Blyton. Once I started reading them, I was in love with books all over again. In her books I travelled with “The Famous Five” on their adventures, I climbed “The Magic Faraway trees” to visit new magical lands, I learnt how a girl goes from being the naughtiest to being a monitor. The list is endless. I not only learnt great values in life but also a lot of new ways to use sentences. It was one of the best phases of my life.

Couple of months later I wanted to read another genre. This time I was introduced to the mystery world. I started off with reading the “Adventures of Nancy Drew” and “Hardy Boys”. Gradually, I went on to read Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Three Investigators” series of books. Again, I was hooked. I loved it- the mysteries, the suspense, the thrill of catching the bad guy, the little jokes, the little romances, all of it. I just couldn’t stop reading them. To this day am still in love with solving the mysteries with the characters in the books.

Once I had exhausted reading all the series of books mentioned that were in my library, I was on the lookout for a new series to start. It's a  habit I still cannot let go off- I've to try and finish all the books in a series of books before starting a new one. This was the time when I saw the first movie of the Harry Potter series. I was awestruck by the entire story. Needless to say, I had to read the series. I decided to start reading from the third book in the series -my reasoning being, "I just saw the first movie and the second will be out soon enough. So let me read the third book". I know, it was stupid because the third book had a lot of gaping holes from the previous books. So, once I finished it, I rushed back to get the first book and started properly from the beginning. I went through the books that were out back then in record time. Just like millions of other readers I fell in love with the magical world. It wasn’t just a story with magic, it was a magical story. It was inspirational in so many ways. Yes, it’s fiction. But there are so many morals and life advice in it.

I learnt to instinctively feel if I wanted to make friends with someone with just one meeting just like Harry makes friends with Ron and not with Draco.  I learnt how to be normal. Harry was famous, but he was the most down to earth person with no attitude. That’s what makes a person be happy (as opposed to Voldemort’s need for followers and admirers). With Harry, I learnt that it was ok to be who you are. You don’t have to do what everyone does to fit in. Most importantly, it’s the love Harry was capable of giving everyone. He never let it affect him that his parents were not with him. His loyalty and love was so strong that he sacrificed his life to save the entire magical community. Now, if that isn’t the best story, I don’t know what is.

From there on, I have expanded my list of genres and authors. I still love all kinds of books but can’t read one genre for too long. Was it fate or coincidence, I have no idea, but I ended up with a husband who was as much into reading books as I was and we have a little library at home just for us. Am still trying to beat his number of books read and plan to do it soon.

           “A room without books is like a body without a soul.”

           ― Marcus Tullius Cicero

    “Stories never really end...even if the books like to pretend they do. Stories always go on.   They don't end on the last page, any more than they begin on the first page.”

― Cornelia Funke, Inkspell 

Reading books is not just a way to pass the time, it is a whole new world beckoning you, tempting you to enter it. I am extremely fond of keeping the books safe and in pristine condition, no matter how many times I read them. Books are precious, not because of it's price but because of the values and knowledge they gives us.