Hello Everyone, In this post, I thought of sharing with you all, my experiences in developing a new hobby. Book reading. I hope this post would resonate with people who are trying to inculcate the habit of book reading and beginners.
My first exposure to reading books was back in my school days. Our school had two libraries, one for the students of Class 1-5 and the other for the students in higher classes. I can vividly remember how we had a separate hour in the timetable for Library. Once the bell rang, and it was time for library period, we used to rush to the library room. The library room was a narrow rectangular room with books on both sides, but too far from our reach covered in glass and wooden cabinets. The library had a big wooden door which used to be locked most of the time, thus increasing our curiosity and urge to go inside the room. We rush to the library room because, those who reach first, can lay their hands upon the most prized fairy tales books, Aladdin books, and Akbar and Birbal books. They were filled with attractive paintings, big fonts, playful colors, and most importantly the smell of a really nice new book. If you end up reaching late, you only get those boring black and white books, with no pictures
Later, as I moved up the classes, the library period was no more filled with curiosity. We had taken those classes for granted and ended up chatting and giggling in corners. As we entered higher classes, there were no dedicated hours for the library. But somehow, I landed upon this amazing novel " Wuthering Heights " by Emily Bronte. Though I am not sure whether I was able to fully grasp the emotions and nuanced storyline of one of the greatest classics of English literature, I must say, I was thoroughly hooked to the story and felt a pang of melancholy by the time I finished it. Till date, it remains one of my favourite book and I hope to revisit the novel very soon.
I can remember , how our school always used to put up book exhibitions every year, and how I have never purchased a single book in those fairs. Mainly because, I did not have much pocket money to spare, nor did I pursue my parents to buy them for me. I always thought it was an unnecessary expenditure. Now, I regret those missed opportunities of experiencing the vast world of literature.
During my college days also, I could not cultivate the habit. As I joined the services, I felt a great relief of freedom and an urge to read books other than those related to UPSC. But I did not know how to start and how to sustain. I had met a friend in my previous service, who was a voracious reader and could complete books in a matter of 4-5 days and move on to the next. I often sat and wondered how he could get the patience. I always thought movies and dramas are a much better portrayal of stories. And he used to discuss about the books with such passion and interest with our fellow officers and our Director.He gave me a tip to start about with book reading. He told me I should finish at least 50 pages in one sitting, But to my disappointment I felt it was very boring and difficult to do the same
My experiments went on and on , till I could find my right direction. I had often picked books randomly without any context and interest, just for the sake of reading books. They did not get me hooked or get me thinking. But atleast, they gave me scope to move forward.
Tips for Beginners- Dont start with Selh help books. As good as they may be they are not mean to cultivate the reading habit or reading curve. I had purchased lot of self help books and I got stuck with them, not able to complete and not able to move forward. Because self help books are not meant for one time reading. They are a kind of motivation/therapy/ boost/ guide when we feel low. It needs to be visited every now and then when we feel the need.
Here are some of the self help books I had loved reading
1. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
2.Man's search for Meaning by Viktor E Frankl
3.Art of War -Sun Tzu
In my next post, I shall continue on few tips to improve the reading habit and interest.
Hi there..i think you just started the habit of reading books, then you should try this novel "The Tattoo on my breast" unputdownable in Nature which takes you back to partition time and it helps to improve reading habits.(strongly suggested to read every beginner)
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing , though I am in the right path of becoming good politician, but inculcating reading habits will diversified my analytical and decision making skills . Keep motivating us .Jai hind .
ReplyDeleteGreat Narration. It reminds me of my own schooling days. Thank you for the tips. Keep it up
ReplyDeleteHi Ishwarya Ramanathan. I still remember in my school days at Mani High School, Coimbatore (where actor and director K Bhagyaraj was my senior) had an exclusive library period once a week which developed my inquisitiveness to read. Moreover, I used to borrow books mostly about national leaders, freedom fighters, books on top biz honchos. My favourite novel is Earle Stanley Gardner's Perrymason. Browsing through idioms and phrases helped me a lot towards penning general articles. I got my articles published when I was doing my 9th class in the now defunct weeklies Illustrated Weekly, Blitz, Current and Mirror. During my address to UG and PG students sharing my experiences as a senior journalist (40 years in this field), I was much shocked to infer that a major chunk of them never glance through the newspapers. I advised them to make newspaper reading a habit not only to know about current affairs, but also enrich knowledge and develop writing skills.
ReplyDelete“Read what you love until you love to read. Then read what is worth rereading.”
ReplyDelete“Read the best 100 books over and over again.”
-Naval Ravikant
If a book isn’t worth rereading, then it’s not worth reading even once.
Thank you
ReplyDelete