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R is for 'Reading'

I guess the first books I remember reading are the Ladybird series of books. But I can’t remember which ones. What I do remember clearly is that my mom joined a library back in the 80s and brought home my first Enid Blyton and my first Archie comic when I was in Class 4. I was hooked to Enid Blytons after that and also added Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drews, Trixie Beldens, Archies, Tintins, Asterix comics to the list. I moved on to the photoromance series before I was even a teen! That’s why childhood seems like such a magical time for me. I inhabited the world of Darrel Rivers and the five find-outers and escaped to the enchanted woods, too, whenever I wanted to.

In my teens, I read a lot of Jeffrey Archer, Sidney Sheldon, Ken Follet, Arthur Hailey, Robin Cook, Michael Crichton etc.  In my twenties and thirties, I read mostly chick lit like Lauren Weisenberger and Candace Bushnell, interspersed with the odd literary classic.



When I turned forty, I started taking my reading more seriously. I joined online book clubs, Whatsapp groups, started a blog on the books I’d read, even received copies for review from some publishers and authors.  I read about 25 books a year and use Goodreads to track them.

These days, I’m thinking of switching to audiobooks because my eyes cannot take any more of the strain. With amazon having some of its audible collection free for a while, it seems like the right time to start.

Reading has been more than my hobby. It has been my way of coping with the world. It has been my way of making sense of things that remain unclear and blurry. It has been my escape and it has been my passion. As Socrates said, “the unexamined life is not worth living”. And a life without books isn’t either. Books help me examine my life and put things into perspective. Here’s to all the fellow bibliophiles reading this post. Do let me know your current favourite authors in the comments section.
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Comments

  1. SuchitaApril 22, 2020 at 7:07 AM

    Reading has always been a solace for me as well and Goodreads a boon to track your reading progress. I too started reading what everyone my age was reading at the time and slowly found my own reading rhythm.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sudha SakleshpurApril 30, 2020 at 10:52 PM

    Reading is my hobby too....but nowadays I am finding it difficult to focus because work takes up so much of time...

    ReplyDelete

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