Diwali is on its way and so has begun the great cleaning. As I was cleaning my room, I kept another half read book on the already full bookshelf. As I looked at the books which I still want to read (the reason I bought them in the first place), I was wondering what was lacking in me and what I could then do to consciously make an effort to read many of these unfinished books.
I used to like reading! The books promise fun, great learning, self development and value addition for me. Over years however, my reading habit has plummeted from being a regular reader, to reading once in a while, to buying books and not completing them and now to not buying books till I read the already purchased ones. The capacity to sit for long for reading has also gone down considerably owing to the multiple distractions mainly offered by the phone.
At one point in time, I used to even advocate reading a book over watching the film based on the books as it allowed me to imagine and deepen the whole experience which the writer of the book wanted to convey vis-à-vis a 2-3 hour movie which seldom used to do justice to the whole book or at least of what I thought of the book.
Even though the visual effects offered today in films are jaw dropping, I still prefer the imagination and depth which comes when I am reading a book. One, there is more material to play with, second, I become the director and my vision takes over on the screen of my mind, and third, there is a sense of calmness and accomplishment at the end of reading along with the fun and learning the book brings with its content.
As I was wondering about it all, I realized that even though I love reading, I have taken it for granted. I vouched to let my love of reading to be the guiding force and to be more disciplined and methodical for something I cared.
I went down with one unfinished book and started brewing a cup of tea. Not to read but to sit with my parents and be with them as I was aware of the people in my life I take for granted and I love to spend more time with.
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