I got my interest in reading from my mother, who got it from her father, my grandfather. Since my childhood, my mother would tell me stories of the brave soldiers who laid down their lives for our country’s independence, tales from ancient India, and anecdotes about the struggles of great men. However, the stories that had the most profound impact on me were the ones concerning life and self-identity.
As I grew up, the first book that caught my attention and whose lessons still guide me in life was Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist. The one quote that proved to be a complete game-changer went as follows:
When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.
Since the day I read this line, I made it a point to try and do better than the day before. You see, as an introverted girl, it takes me a while to bond with people. Books, though, have helped me effortlessly navigate the race of life. Whether it was Mark Manson’s The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck or Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now, books have always been there for me.
I always turn to books to cope with the everyday challenges that life throws at me. For instance, if I’m having trouble getting up early in the morning, I read Robin Sharma’s The 5 AM Club. Likewise, Ashish Bagrecha’s Dear Stranger, I Know How You Feel is my go-to book when I’m having a hard time processing my emotions. If I’m in the mood to delve into the history of mankind, then Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens is my obvious choice.
Believe it or not, books really speak. All you need to do is listen to them carefully. Trust me when I say this, but books really do have answers to every question you have. These answers may come as stories or narratives. I would go so far as to say that, had it not been for books, I wouldn’t have been able to express my thoughts half as eloquently as I can today, much less connect with myself the right way.
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