In this article, the author writes about how she first discovered books and her love for reading

When there was nothing exciting happening in the outside world, my inner world was full of wonders. While on some occasions I was hanging around 100-year-old vampires; At other times, I was on a quest to find hidden treasures with a bunch of teenagers. Moreover, when even these adventures didn’t satiate my curiosity, I’d sneak away from home and hang out with my favourite shopaholic, who almost felt like my best friend. 

These friends were not imaginary, in a sense, but they were my companions through the various books I read throughout my childhood and well into my teenage years. Now, I have to say, if not for these folks, my childhood wouldn’t have been as fun. 

Books have always been my respite in both good and bad times. While sometimes they proved to be a great escape, at other times, they taught me how to deal with the various experiences and expectations in my life.

From what I remember, I started reading profusely when I was 9 or 10 years old. However, even before that, I was a fan of many illustrated children’s and comic books (hello Tinkle and my beloved Amar Chitra Katha series), who were the permanent residents of my nightstand, interchangeably of course.  

When I picked up my first proper book i.e. a full-fledged novel, it was like reconnecting with an old friend. The feeling of reading and getting lost in a book is indescribable. You lose all sense of time and whether it be dusk or dawn, it’s all the same to you.

I remember my schooling days when I would come back home from school, watch a few episodes of my favourite cartoons and then without even changing my uniform, get straight to reading and meeting my ‘book friends’. These wonderful characters stayed with me and comforted me when no one else was there to hold my hand or make me laugh. It truly felt like magic when I started reading and it is one of my most cherished memories. Maybe that’s why ‘what are your hobbies’ was one of the easiest questions for me to answer when I was growing up, because my hobby was reading, of course! What else could it be?!

When I think back to how I first got into the habit of reading, I don’t have a definite answer but it has always felt like the books came to me, and not the other way around. When I needed the Famous Five to get me out of a slump, they were there with new adventures in the form of a new title every so often. Similarly, when I needed a little bit of adventure into other-worldly realms, my trusted vampire friends, warrior princesses and the like, were more than happy to have me accompany them into their glorious lives and battles. 

And, when it was the time to explore avenues such as being girly, true love and adult life and difficulties, the trusted Rebecca Bloomwood from the Shopaholic series and the ever-romantic novelist Nicholas Sparks were there to hold my hand along this journey.

Interestingly, as I grew, so did the characters in my books, and through them, I have learnt about many different cultures, traditions and even world views. Everything I know and experience today, have been influenced in some shape or form, either consciously or unconsciously, by the many books I read. And so sometimes, when I seriously think about it, I’m reminded of what a powerful thing this is and the ability reading holds for children and adults alike. 

Books are a form of magic that you can physically and emotionally touch and experience. There is no feeling quite like this. So go on, get yourself a nice book, a warm or cold cup of your favourite beverage and revere the feeling of being lost and found all at once. 

This article is the copyright work of the author and this blog.