To Read or Not to Read

Books have been a major part of my life for as long as I can remember. In my early years, my parents selected my books, but as soon as I reached primary and teenage years, I bought my own. I clearly remember the fun of searching through the many bookshelves, to find just the right book or author

As I got older, I would spend more and more time picking out just the right book. Sometimes this was easy, and I found it straight away, and yet, at other times, I had to search through many titles to find the one I wanted. But I always ended up picking out more than one book – then the dilemma of deciding which book to buy. Only just one? Maybe three or four. This was always my problem with bookshops – I would spend hours in there, but it was never possible to come out with just one book. It was always at least two or three.

Libraries just made the problem worse – so many books, and I was only allowed to borrow four! Eventually I would select my four books and remember the others as part of my wish list for next time.

When I got home, I would set aside some time, find a comfortable chair or lounge to snuggle into, and totally lose myself in the book I had chosen to read. Reading opened up a new world – I could travel to different places to different times and to different worlds.. The present time disappeared, as I became part of the book.

I am proud to be a book nerd, as the many books on my bookshelves will testify. The idea of not reading is a totally foreign one – for someone not to read would mean that their world would be so limited. The mere idea of it is so very hard to understand, because it would lead to someone with such a very narrow mind with so few new ideas. Not enough time to read? No need to read? Set aside some time and try it – you won't look back and feel sorry.