My story is not a very interesting one, but I’m sure it will set you thinking about the significance of giving books at least one chance in your life.

Hello! I’m a twelfth-grade student from the state of Punjab. Like most Indian students, I was no big fan of books as I found them quite boring. Moreover, just like most other students, I too thought that smartphones were a convenient alternative to books.

It goes without saying that my affair with books was a purely unintended and accidental one. Without beating about the bush, I was kind of obsessed with the idea of getting rich. Coming from a middle-class family, I was quite interested in knowing how money worked. My smartphone helped in satiating this curiosity of mine, even if it was up to a certain extent. However, I was far from done.

One fine day, while absentmindedly scrolling through YouTube videos, I came across this video with a catchy title that said ‘must read books to become rich’. Having watched the video, I realized that the book it had emphasized the most was Rich Dad Poor Dad. I was totally convinced that I just had to read this book. A quick Google search directed me to an e-commerce website, where I almost instantly ordered it – however, as fate would have it, just as I was going to place my order, I got a message from one of my (few) bookworm friends.

I asked him if he had heard of this book or not. Unsurprisingly, he had, and he said that it was a fairly good read. No prizes for guessing what I did next! I simply borrowed it from him as spending money on a book about making money suddenly seemed less appealing an idea than borrowing it.

The book spent a good two days lying on a shelf. Like I mentioned, reading wasn’t one of my favorite pastimes. It took a great deal of convincing myself to start reading it. About twenty pages into the book, it dawned on me that books probably weren’t as boring as I had made them out to be. If this book was anything to go by, they would rather prove to be interesting companions.

The book had a total of nine chapters and it took me an entire week to finish reading it. This was contrary to my unfounded self-assessment that it would take me at least around a month to go through it. Well, the credit also goes to Kiyosaki as he has succeeded in striking a chord with the reader by sprinkling the narrative with his childhood anecdotes. However, the book particularly appealed to me because it had fulfilled the purpose I had chosen it for: giving me valuable insights into the ways in which money can be utilized.

I learned a lot from the book. I also felt that smartphones will perhaps never completely replace books – and, I guess, that’s how it should be. Having turned into a book lover overnight, I tried some more books with the same theme in addition to some other reads. Obviously, the book did not make me a millionaire, but it helped me understand the value of money – something that will definitely hold me in good stead in the times to come.

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