Recently I have been to a family function. We all family members were there sitting, discussing the return gift we were planning to give to the guests. We were thinking of giving some small religious books as a return gift. The thought was it would be a good memory and a useful gift also. As we were discussing this, one of my aunts came and said something very important, which we all agreed but still wanted to proceed with the plan. She said with sarcasm that these days people are too busy looking at mobile screens, who read this book. We all laughed at her comment, but we all knew that she was right.
These days we spend a lot of time on mobile and other gadgets and we don’t see people reading books. Even some people try to read something on mobile, but the habit of reading physical books is getting reduced these days.
This is a very serious situation. We are not going into depth of any topic; we are just getting surface-level knowledge. In this fast-paced time, everyone wants to get quick information. To get that quick bite, people are preferring videos instead of reading something. Interestingly this is working also for a lot of people, hence they are getting inclined more towards videos or clips instead of reading something.
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I see reading as a meditation activity. It is like going into a different world, experiencing the experiences somebody had, looking at the world from someone else’s perspective. It’s a completely different experience.
I have had a habit of reading since childhood. From grade 5-6, I have been reading. I used to read stories and novels. At some point, I started writing poetry also. I was writing poetry till my college days, then somehow, I didn’t continue it, but reading is there always with me. I was reading fiction and non-fiction. Later I developed an interest in reading biographies and self-development books. I was trying to find out solutions for my problems, and challenges in these books. I was trying to understand how somebody else faced the same situation, how they responded, and how they could overcome the challenges. So, books were helping me to understand and overcome the challenges.
If you recently developed an interest in reading, I would suggest starting with short stories, fiction, and small books. Read some easy books. Then later try reading everything. All kinds of zoners, all kinds of flavors. You will enjoy this journey.