As I walked by the sea I saw a solitary figure, head down and fully focused. I wondered if she was lonely but then as I got closer could see she was reading a book. She looked as if she was enjoying the experience. I breathed a sigh of relief. I knew she wasn't lonely. How can you be lonely with a good read? She had entered into another world.
It was then I had a thought. 'You are never alone if you have a good book.' A book can fill almost every void. It can advise, comfort, entertain, inspire, and provide a means of escape. A book can change your life and has changed people's lives. God released one of the most read books in the world, The Holy Bible which has changed countless lives.
A book is an ever reliable friend that you can pick up and put down at will. A good book can really lift the spirit no end; even a cover on a book can lift your mood in an instant.
It's a great gift for a child to learn to love books from a very early age, as they will never be lonely while they have a good book and the thrill of going to a library as a child has stayed with me even to this day. I remember the joy of finding another Famous Five book by Enid Blyton and how I loved escaping into the world of ginger beer and Timmy the dog; joining the children who went on adventures.
Growing up, I remember taking a great interest in self-help books. I read them all, Dale Carnegie - How To Win Friends And Influence People, Wayne Dyer - Pulling Your Own Strings, Susan Jeffers - Feel The fear And Do It Anyway and the list goes on...As an only child these books were my big brothers and sisters. I turned to them for advice when there was no family about.
Books and reading are a gift.
5 comments:
So true. As kids, we had a bookcase rather that a TV, but more entertaining.
My best present every Christmas was a box of second hand books my Dad would scrounge up. A whole treasure trove of adventures to be had.
Two images that have stayed with me this week are that a gentleman reading while sitting in a wheelchair on the pavement near my house and a photo of my sister reading a book to her two month grandson!
It's great to see a post celebrating the companionship and inspiration we get from books, especially in childhood. Nice to list some books I remember fondly too! (I'd add Janette Rainwater's You're in Charge.)
Hi Mary J here again.
On a humourous note. I have found another use for books. During the week i was being attacked by a vicious wasp. I reached for a book and squashed it and that was the last chapter in the life of a wasp.ZZZ RIP waspie.
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