“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.” - Mark Twain.

I really love books. I’ve never considered them to be lumps of lifeless paper; I’ve always thought of them as something that’s alive, the author’s world, its characters jumping out at you from the pages. Whenever I read a good book, I get a new insight into life and at times, re-inforcement of my world-views.  I have found that a book to be the only place where I can examine, and re-examine a fragile thought, or look at a volatile idea without the fear of it exploding in my face. I treasure the things I learn from it, and it invariably follows me everywhere.

Today is World Book Day, and I urge you to make books your friend, counselor, and patient teacher. I urge you to be literate in the true sense of the word – not only someone who is able to read and write, but someone who is also able to learn, unlearn, and re-learn. Whenever my daughter gets bogged down by her studies, I ask her, “Why are you complaining? I have cleared all my exams and I’m still reading, studying and learning.”

This post would feel a bit incomplete if I didn’t also urge you to read that which does not appeal to you as well as that which does. When we read things that challenge our convictions, we get to see different points of view, and we grow as a result of comparison and assimilation of those others.  It is not you that chooses the book but the book that chooses you.

I want you to experience that same joy and companionship that I do, when I read – the feeling that there’s someone to keep you company when you’re lonely, to sharpen you wit and intelligence, to enable you to think for yourself. What you start when you read, you must finish by being.