Honestly, I had no interest in reading when I was young. I was good at academics, but I hardly ever read anything beyond my textbooks. My liking for books is quite recent.
When I was in eighth grade, I started reading books like Harry Potter in my school’s library. To my utter surprise, I found myself visualizing every sentence in my head in my own creative way. The more I read, the more I realized that my creativity had no limits. I learned that, while watching a movie limited our imagination to whatever the screen displayed, there were no such boundaries with books. And this was what prompted me to read more. There was a point when I always had a book on me. And, before I knew it, reading had become my favorite hobby.
Reading not only helped improve my imagination, but also boosted my communication skills and vocabulary. I learned several new words every day, something that helped me ace my English exams. Soon, I had become confident enough to not just take part in a creative writing competition, but even finish third in it! For someone who had always been an insecure girl plagued by the million-dollar question What will people think about me?, this was a big achievement. Reading helped break off this insecurity, igniting the kind of self-belief I had never experienced before.
In books, I found a lasting peace of mind; for me, books were a friend I could comfortably confide in. Whenever I was going through a bad day or whenever I needed a breather from work, I would turn to books. People often labeled me as a nerd or a bookworm, but I seldom bothered explaining myself to them. After all, only someone who has experienced the magic of a book can understand how soothing a book’s company can get.
Romance, fiction, thriller and horror were my favorite genres. It took me a while to understand that I sought these genres subconsciously. An undeniable lack of resources and an irrepressible desire to read meant that I also began read books online. Ebooks opened a whole new world to me! I first started with Wattpad. In fact, it was there that I discovered new genres like fan fiction. It was shocking for me to see fans writing stories about their favorite idols. It initially struck me as odd and even wondered if they were worth reading at all. However, after going through a few of them, I figured that they weren’t as bad as I had made them out to be.
That said, I have also realized that ebooks can never match the satisfaction you get from a good paperback. Hard copies have an entirely different vibe to them, something online books or apps can never quite match; a physical copy feels so different. I know this is a polarizing issue, but at least that’s what I make of this whole debate.
Anyways, while I am it, I would like to suggest everyone to read a book that is very dear to me – Rhonda Byrne’s The Magic. You might be tempted to think of it as the usual, boring work about black magic or something. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth. The book is a complete game-changer! It brings back the lost magic in our lives. It teaches us how we can make our lives magical through the magical word “gratitude”. And once you have learned how to summon and channelize this magic, you will live the life of your dreams. You may not see a reindeer fly over your apartment, but you are sure to see things that you have always dreamed of, just by saying “thank you”. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who wishes to live their dream life.
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