As a tenth grader, studying was the one thing I hated the most. If I am allowed to be more specific here, I am talking about reading books. Almost every other person in my life seemed to suggest me to read novels and non-fiction books for the sake of “entertainment”. For someone who just about managed to finish her school textbooks, giving some additional books a try – and that too for “entertaining” myself – seemed like a far-fetched idea. Moreover, just the thought of reading a 300-page novel would give me headaches. I would often wonder how it was possible for someone to read through such thick books, which did not even contain any illustrations. How can something like that be entertaining?!
However, the bookworms in my life had the last laugh. They finally convinced me to buy my own book. The first book I (bought and) read was The Alchemist. I was in eleventh grade at the time. It claimed to be a fiction self-help book, and while I did like it, my poor command of vocabulary forced me to look for another novel. This time, I went for Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood. The voluminous size of the book (400 pages) did put me off in the beginning, but I decided to go ahead with it anyhow. I am glad to say I did, for I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
It was only after reading these two books that I realized that the absence of images and the bulky size of a book was not a fair reflection of how great it could be. In fact, its contents may end up transporting the readers to an all new world – one that may be even more beautiful than the one they live in.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, was how I embarked on my journey in the fascinating world of books.
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