By Bhavana Sivakumar
Reading can generally be divided into two categories. One is academic reading and the other is miscellaneous reading. The main reason why one reads textbooks in school and college is to get an education. It is not necessary that a person who reads or has read textbooks should also be a lover of other books. Like many of you I read a lot of books for school, college and professional studies. But the truth is that I am not much into reading books. In the following pages I refer to general non-academic books. This includes novels, short stories, essays, and comedy.
As a matter of fact, until my sixties I devoted most of my attention and enthusiasm to two things: singing and telling jokes. Contrary to this habit of mine, at the age of sixty-one I wrote and published a book for the first time in my life. I did not read any other book to publish this book. Because in this my first book I have written the experiences I have seen and felt and some serious beliefs and principles that I have.
I am just after my sixty-one year and I am buying and reading other books. You can understand the main reason for this. I have more time after retirement. So I had to do something to pass the time. This is one of the main reasons why I am reading books now.
Another reason why I haven't bought and read other books in between is because I wanted to express my thoughts unadulterated and share them with readers. The doubt and fear of reading other people's books, where my imagination will mix other people's ideas and their style of writing with my own imagination. Now I have partially created many of my unadulterated self-images in Tamil and English. That's why I've been reading articles, stories, novels and comic books written by other authors for the past year.
In this highly advanced age, buying and reading books is very less, especially in the youth society. Although the youth read non-academic books, they mostly read their favorite books in soft copy form on the computer. Today's youth read books through Amazon's Kindle, a hand-sized digital book reading device. The pleasure of holding the book in hand and flipping through each page is indescribable. That's why middle-aged and elderly people who have the habit of reading still buy and read books in hard copy, myself included.
The main advantages of reading books in soft copy are savings on book prices, no need for a bookshelf at home, and a large number of books can be collected or purchased in soft copy. There is no situation where you can give books to others and not get them back.
The advantages of buying hard copy books are that it is not too difficult for the eyes to read, enjoying the color of the book in hand and reading every page, the experience of going to libraries and reading books, the opportunity to read the entire book as hard copy books are at home or in front of one's eyes, the experience of going to book fairs and buying books and reading. Some reasons like
In a way, I think buying the book in hard copy is more beneficial overall. When we go out to the shops, many of the things we need, be it clothes, household items, or food items, cannot be bought in soft copy. Of course, if we buy these in hard copy, we will get the benefit of the respective product. That way, one is more likely to read books in hard copy more and faster than books in hard copy. This is my opinion and not an imposition.
It cannot be denied that in today's situation, especially when social media has penetrated the lives of many people, online chatting, thousands of online video games, the good habit of reading books is decreasing, especially in the situation that has affected the youth of today. Therefore, we should teach our children and young people we know about the joy and benefits of reading books and teach them the habit of reading books. It doesn't matter if you read it in hard copy or soft copy. My two grown sons read a lot of books, not hard copy, but soft copy.
As I have already mentioned in one of my previous articles, I myself have been involved in writing for two years and have published my imaginations and experiences not only on websites but also in book form. When a new book launch is celebrated, the new book is released in hard copy. Book fairs are held in many places across the country. There thousands of books are displayed and sold in hard copy. As today is 23.04.2023, World Book Day, I am sharing some of my thoughts on the above. I wish you to spend your time in the way you like by buying and reading a lot of books you like, and through that you get happiness and general knowledge.
By Bhavana Sivakumar