The above lines by Betty Smith are a treasure trove of thoughts. Every child knows that excitement. The excitement of reading for the first time. Those of you who have spent their childhood listening to the little red riding hood tales. Or those who have sat beside their grandmother and listened to her, are the best ones. You all have lived your lives through books. Life changing books that have changed you all in myriad ways. And that has glossed your identity. And made you what you all are today.

“Oh, magic hour, when a child first knows she can read printed words!” – Betty Smith

But those who have stayed away from them, are certainly lagging behind in certain aspects. Alas! Don’t you get admired by the stocks of books on Instagram? Those pages that show aesthetic collections? Probably, a reader with his/her dog and book, sitting in solace and reading. The themes, genres, issues etc. that books raise help one to learn living life. It imparts wisdom and a lot more.

After all, books are your best friends. Aren’t they?

Knowledge and Awareness house

Well, why do you study? Or why do you read academic books? The answer is: for gaining knowledge. In fact, that’s what books are concerned to do- spread knowledge. Reading books makes your life meaningful. Can you imagine life without any information? Certainly not!
Reading books is the golden rule that helps one to gain knowledge in all spheres of life.

” I kept always two books in my pocket, one to read, one to write in.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

RL Stevenson has rightly put it all in a single sentence. See all the amazing Officers in higher posts. Or take any renowned author. All they did was – read and read. They didn’t start writing immediately. Firstly, they read all the literature books that existed and polished their art. It was only after being well-read that they went ahead in writing pursuits.

For being successful in life, reading is a must. Go to any job interview. The first question they will ask you will be regarding what all you have read.
In other words, your knowledge is reflected by what you read and how much. Reading one kind of genre also doesn’t make much difference. If you really want to add value to your life, then read all kinds of books.
Books are a storehouse of knowledge. A knowledge that will enlighten your minds.

And will make you see truth and genuineness. Besides that, reading will help develop logical thinking. Most of the time, we take things as they are. But reading will make you question and debate!

Positive Attitude

If you have read the ” Diary of Anne Frank” or ” The Story of my life: Helen Keller”, you are a positive person. Positivity in life is a must. These are the autobiographies written by people who have faced adversities. Anne faced the Nazism wrath. While Helen was a blind girl who later went on to write a book.
They both and many like them add bliss in our lives. Reading through their struggles we Inspire ourselves to learn more and be strong. Similarly, any book that quotes the author’s struggles, is a good choice to add positive values.

In life, we encounter many debilitating situations. Going through them and fighting them is tough. Yet with books it becomes easy. Read those lovely memoirs and biographies, and you suddenly gain strength.
Reading life changing books is truly a miraculous healing. Those who have read the song prayers of Rabindranath Tagore know it well.
In Gitanjali, he constantly persuades to meet God. He says that humans should leave their burden on him. And that’s when readers become rejuvenating.
Reading instills wisdom, love, compassion, patience, and truth in a person. After all, this is what you need to actually run your life!

A different outlook – Ikigai

This is the name of the Japanese bestseller that created a furore in the book market. It talks about living life in a happy way. There are many e-books also available for the same. The statistics itself shows the popularity of reading habits that people have.
Some life changing books are written in a brilliant way. These are the books that help one change his/ her perspective towards life.

We, humans, keep whining about one or the other thing in our lives. But books be it fiction or nonfiction boost us up. An American woman – Maya Angelou, is the bestselling author as we know her. Her memories in her books motivate one to never give up. In ” I know why the caged bird sings”, she faces discrimination, yet never gives up.

This is the kind of outlook that reading imparts to us.

Books do it all. They make us confident. They prompt us to fall in love with breeze, flowers and whatnot. Reading helps us travel imaginary worlds. It allows us to fantasize. It reveals the darker side of our society too. Through reading, we can experience discrimination, happiness, shock, disgust, and all emotions virtually.
It’s only reading that makes us sensitive.

Altogether, it would be undermining reading if we count all that it does to us. One can’t count the benefits of reading books reaps.
Reading helps you touch history. It makes you wander in the Middle Ages. It also lets you know about things like the Black Struggle, Love Laws, Caste System, etc.

It helps you unlearn many things and learn new ones.

From the magical fairy world to the dystopian underworld. From the heavens to the earth. From love to hatred. From the Alps to the Himalayas. From Nile to Yamuna. From West to South-West. From the Pacific to the Indian Ocean.

You can experience it all through life changing books.
So just grab a favorite one of yours and read it. Reading in a quiet bower is everyone’s dream!
Isn’t it?