I was neither a bibliophile nor was I into casual reading. However, as school life came to an end and the first semester of engineering beckoned, I learned that many of my classmates always had a book on them, even if most of the time it was just for show off.
Also, our communication skills’ faculty told us that reading was the key to improving our communication skills. This was what prompted me to get some books to see how it would go. Since I was no expert, I ordered a bunch of books across several genres. These ranged from self-help books such as The Alchemist and Think and Grow Rich to fiction.
When I started off with The Alchemist, my sole purpose was to learn as many words as possible. I wanted to enrich my vocabulary before moving on to the next book. However, the more I more I read, the more I realized that the book itself interested me more than the words I sought to memorize. The result? Well, I ended up reading the book within a week. Every other book I read met the same fate. And that was how I discovered my love for books.
Books transformed my life in that they not only made a reader, but a lot more as well. Having been brought up in a family with a defense background, discipline was an essential part of my life. If anything, the books I read made me even more disciplined. Even so, books were a lot more than that to me. They taught me the value of consistency and concentration. I would get up at a quarter to five every morning just to read a little bit more before leaving for college. They piqued my curiosity and even confused me at times, forcing me to think profoundly.
Sun Tzu’s The Art of War was one such book. I read it in a mind-boggling forty minutes! While my brain had an obvious issue processing so much information at once, the sheer pleasure I got from reading at such insane speed did my confidence a world of good.
Another thing that I love about books is the never-ending content they have on offer. The fact that there is an endless possibility of learning whatever one wants makes books such wonderful companions.
I would like to sum up with a quote by J.K. Rowling:
I you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book.
A NOTE TO OUR READERS
If you too are an Indian reader with a story to tell, we are all ears. Getting your story published on Ameya is pretty straightforward, actually. Just click on the button below, fill in the applicable fields and start typing. Once you are done, hit ‘submit’. If you don’t quite fancy the idea of filling random contact forms on the Internet, relax – we’ve got all bases covered! You can simply email your story to us at support@booksameya.in. Once we’ve received your story, our team will get in touch with you and apprise you of its publishing status. Yes, it’s that simple!