PLEASURE OF READING: Essay Writing

PLEASURE OF READING

Food is necessary for our body. Similarly, we also need food for our mind. The bet food for the mind is reading of books. It has a joy of its own, which perhaps nothing else can give. The pleasure one derives from reading is recreative as well as ennobling. Reading give us peculiar joy and we forget the cares and worries of our life.

Reading is of different kinds. First, there is light reading; that is, reading of newspapers, periodicals, journals etc. Newspapers and journals are store houses of information on current events through them we come to know about the happenings in every part of the world. The modern age is such that we can ill-afford to miss this type of light reading. We will be like a frog in a well without newspapers. Therefore, reading cannot be ignored.

Then there are books on travel and adventure. Man wants to escape from the dull routine of everyday life. The spirit of adventure is in very blood of man. Books on travel and adventure infuse in us the same spirit of  adventure and fearlessness as was displayed by the travelers. Reading of novel is a pleasant experience and nothing is more entertaining than to spend some time reading a novel. The reader forgets his own self for a short time and identifies himself with one of the leading characters. This identification of the reader with the hero or heroine, though unconscious, is a source of endless pleasure to him.

Then there are books of serious reading. They include works of literature, history,philosophy etc. which may be called books of all times. Such books are intended for sober and thoughtful minds. A student of literature comes in contact with the master minds of all ages and finds a good deal of food for his thought. They give him an insight in to the spiritual values of life. He can thus make his life noble and sublime. His outlook is widened and the field of human sympathy broadened.

Now we come to the most important questions, viz, how to read books? Beacon has said, “ some books are to be tasted, others are to be swallowed and some few to be chewed and digested”. To treat a book as a text-book has the sense of compulsion. This compulsion may be useful, but it kills all interest nobody can appreciate such temporary love of books. A real lover of books enjoys their company all the time.

We should be very careful in the choice of books. If bad books come into the hands of young, their minds get infected with evil influence. Many promising youths have been ruined because of the taste for bad books. Good books, on the other hand are purifying.

The habit of reading is a sign of culture. It is great source of enjoyment and the best means of utilizing leisure. Books are a treasure richer than the treasure of any king. They are gold mines of art, literature, science and information. They are our constant companions.