The Magical World Of Books

I love books, especially the old ones with folded corners, wrinkled pages, and little stains that show they’ve been loved before. I don’t know how it is for other book lovers, but there’s something comforting about picking them up and letting them tell me their stories again, as if I’m hearing them for the very first time. A very large part of my being is made of books. If human beings were transparent and we could see what they are made of, I’m pretty sure they would see chess, anime and most importantly, books. I love reading books. Somehow, I can’t seem to place my head around when I started this habit. I feel it was an inherent habit that became more profound when I got into high school. It was probably passed down from my mom’s genes (if that is possible), because she is also a book lover

Today’s Hive Learners’ topic is very interesting. It is arguably the most interesting topic I would write about this year and that’s simply because it is about books. Today’s Hive learners’ prompt is: READING HABITS. How often do you read physical books? Of course, I love physical books. I used to prefer them, until something changed. You see, before I gained admission into the university, I used to read solely physical books. At the time, I did not have a cell phone so my mom bought a lot of physical books for me. Of all the books she bought, my favorite was The Lord of the Flies. However, when I gained admission into the university, things changed.

My course is one where you have to read a lot of books; novels, collections of poems, short stories and play texts. Because we didn't have access to all the books, we had to resort to downloading them online. Instead of traveling miles to big libraries to get the physical copies, it is easier to go online and download them. I used to think I couldn't read E-books, but with time, I didn't have a choice but to get used to them. Now, I read both physical books and E-books. I don’t have a preference, I read whichever is available.

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME I READ A PHYSICAL BOOK?

The last time I read a physical book was after my exams. The title of the book is Behind Every Miserable Man by R.S Larayetan. This book was written and published by one of my lecturers. Interestingly, I was picked as one of the people to write a critical review about the book and to do that, I had to dissect it. I plan to do a review of the book later on, so I will try as much as I can not to dive too much into it in this post. The first thing that piqued my interest about this book is the title; Behind Every Miserable Man. The title speaks loudly and at the same time, it says nothing. Merely reading out the title, I had a lot of questions: who is behind every miserable man or what is behind every miserable man?

This was one of the reasons why I picked up the book. The novel explores a lot of things. But more importantly, it talks about the complexities of marriage. It explores the dangers of getting married to the wrong person. Ray, a politician, got married to a woman who ruined his life. According to the author, behind every miserable man is a woman and a lot more. This particular book is my lecturer’s debut novel and he really did well with it. Many people might not agree with his views, but in terms of creativity, he did well.

WHEN NEXT WILL I PICK UP A BOOK TO READ?

I know this might sound weird to non-book lovers, but the truth is that I enjoy buying books. Just like people enjoy buying wristwatches and designer brands, I enjoy buying books. Before the year ends, I have plans to buy new books. The last time I visited a library, I saw a particular book I really liked, but at the time, I didn't want to get it since it had many episodes. The title is Diary of a Wimpy Kid. There were about 30 episodes in the library and each one cost 3k. Before the month ends, I have plans to buy at least 10 episodes.

The next time I will fully immerse myself in books is when I get those new ones. But that doesn't mean I won't pick up a book until then, I still have some books in my library that I haven't completed.

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” — Dr. Seuss

Images in this post are mine.

Thanks for reading.