"Why do you read then?"
"Partly for pleasure, because its a habit and I am just as uncomfortable if I dont read as if I dont smoke, and partly to know myself. When i read a book, i seem to read it with my eyes only, but now and then i come across a passage, perhaps only a phrase, which has a meaning for me, and it becomes a part of me.... "
This is from one of my favourite books - Somerset Maugham's "Of Human Bondage. If you are a reader(i consider myself one), you would ve faced this question sometimes. So why do you read then?
Maugham wrote my answer some 150 years ago. And it holds good even to this day. I read because i love reading. Reading is fun (not text books). Its a hobby. Yes, i feel uncomfortable n frustrated when i dont ve anything to read. There are times when i end up reading all the ads in the newspaper because i dont find anything better around. The ads are better than the news coulmns too (:D) (Just like the ads in tv channels which are more creative n entertaining than the actual program u r watching.. saas bahu serial i mean). With me, reading is an addiction. i find solace in reading.. and books r the best friends one can ever have. When i say reading, i mean reading novels. In other words, FICTION. Because these novels take me to a different world altogether. I do read non-fiction sometimes, but mainly fiction.
I started reading in the long break between PU and BE, which later turned into a habit. i could survive through 4 yrs of engineering classes only because of novels (novel+last bench). And reading novels during exams (study holidays) is how i could survive through 8 exam seasons. (Mom used to hide my novels sometimes :D). Was out of this habit for somedays but again i am back on track..
Coming to second part of maugham's paragraph, yes its very much true. There are certain moments when i stop reading.. and maybe smile, make a long face.. or just stare. There are only some parts in any book which make you think or reflect or relate to (thr might not be any in few books). These parts are something which make an indelible mark in your mind.. which come back to you dont know when..
This came back to me now - "If a smile improves a face, it means that the person is good.. if a smile disfigures a face, it means that the person is not good". Dont know where i read this, but i ve felt its truth. "No man is bad!!" hmm i dont remember where i read this too.. Look this is why u should not read.. u get into an argument with yourself. To finish the argument, no man is bad always.. some circumstances make one bad sometimes. Well this is not from any book (:P).
And finally, here is a list of books(novels) i want to read before i die
"Partly for pleasure, because its a habit and I am just as uncomfortable if I dont read as if I dont smoke, and partly to know myself. When i read a book, i seem to read it with my eyes only, but now and then i come across a passage, perhaps only a phrase, which has a meaning for me, and it becomes a part of me.... "
This is from one of my favourite books - Somerset Maugham's "Of Human Bondage. If you are a reader(i consider myself one), you would ve faced this question sometimes. So why do you read then?
Maugham wrote my answer some 150 years ago. And it holds good even to this day. I read because i love reading. Reading is fun (not text books). Its a hobby. Yes, i feel uncomfortable n frustrated when i dont ve anything to read. There are times when i end up reading all the ads in the newspaper because i dont find anything better around. The ads are better than the news coulmns too (:D) (Just like the ads in tv channels which are more creative n entertaining than the actual program u r watching.. saas bahu serial i mean). With me, reading is an addiction. i find solace in reading.. and books r the best friends one can ever have. When i say reading, i mean reading novels. In other words, FICTION. Because these novels take me to a different world altogether. I do read non-fiction sometimes, but mainly fiction.
I started reading in the long break between PU and BE, which later turned into a habit. i could survive through 4 yrs of engineering classes only because of novels (novel+last bench). And reading novels during exams (study holidays) is how i could survive through 8 exam seasons. (Mom used to hide my novels sometimes :D). Was out of this habit for somedays but again i am back on track..
Coming to second part of maugham's paragraph, yes its very much true. There are certain moments when i stop reading.. and maybe smile, make a long face.. or just stare. There are only some parts in any book which make you think or reflect or relate to (thr might not be any in few books). These parts are something which make an indelible mark in your mind.. which come back to you dont know when..
This came back to me now - "If a smile improves a face, it means that the person is good.. if a smile disfigures a face, it means that the person is not good". Dont know where i read this, but i ve felt its truth. "No man is bad!!" hmm i dont remember where i read this too.. Look this is why u should not read.. u get into an argument with yourself. To finish the argument, no man is bad always.. some circumstances make one bad sometimes. Well this is not from any book (:P).
And finally, here is a list of books(novels) i want to read before i die
