Saturday, August 20, 2005

Books

I think everybody has their own take on why they like to read books. Mine is that they were my best friends and gave me company through the worst of an awkward adolescent phase. They have always been my companions on long, boring train journeys. For as long as I had a book close at hand, I would never be bored or lonely and that was the promise hidden in every book.
But more than that, the joy of reading has always been more about entering lives that are so different from mine and yet being a part of it. It is being allowed to enter the most intimate parts of somebody's home and being warmly welcomed. It is about forgetting oneself while reading the book. Sure, television does that and so do movies, but it is never the same as having one's own image of the printed word.
And so when people tell me they don't like to read, I always feel a little sorry for them because I think they are missing out on so much.

4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I agree with you. It is sad when you like a book and then watch a movie based on the book and it is nothing like you imagined.Happy reading.

2:28 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

yes, it is always most disappointing when that happens and it almost always happens

1:24 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

If anyone asked me why I read or like to read, I'd be totally stumped! It's just so totally part of my everyday existence!

As for movies, I find it really funny when someone thinks watching the movie is a shortcut to reading the book!

5:36 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Payal,
I wish reading were a daily part of my existence. But on most days I don't seem to venture beyond newspapers and even then I get stuck doing sudoku. Actually I think movies based on a book might help draw in more readers, so they do serve a purpose there.

9:40 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home