A little while after I moved to Bangalore, I came to know of
the "Just Books" library chain - for a book lover it promised a lot of
excitement. Some months down the line, they opened a satellite store in
my apartment complex - and my joy knew no bounds. But well .... with
the daily schedule being what it is, and constant interrupts from a 4-5
year old demanding attention, I have had neither the time nor peace, to
read. Not to mention the fact that when I am reading a book that really
interests me, well, I am absolutely absorbed - almost forgetting the
world around me. Ultimately, the mind won over the heart, and with a
sadness, I decided not to take the membership .....
Such is the irony of life - when I had enough time, I didn't have such a good facility available to me. For a while, I had borrowed books from a "library" run by someone in a rented garage, which mostly consisted of shabby, well worn copies, primarily of cheap thrillers and obscure titles, more likely bought from a 'raddiwala' than a used-book shop. After I while I got tired of the low "RoI" - walking to and from that garage, and not getting stuff I would have liked to read, and gave up on it. And now, with such a good facility available, that too so close by, I am not able to find the time. But, passion and practicality have been at a constant struggle in my mind ...
Finally, after contemplating for almost two years, I took a membership of "Just Books", in Feb. My own interest in reading was only a small part of the motivation. The primary reason was to encourage a love for reading in Sid.
As far as my memory will take me, I recall being able to read.
Though, of course, in our time, we started with Hindi. I think that I
(and bro, of course) could read kids' hindi magazines like Champak,
Parag, Nandan, when we were around 5 yrs old. For us, comfort level with
English came much later. These days, kids start with the English
alphabet, and its only in senior KG that they start learning Hindi. But
the language is immaterial. I would love Sid to know the joy of reading,
and I believe that this has to be initiated at a young age. As kids
(actually well into our teens, or perhaps even now, if we (bro and I)
had nothing to do, you could give us a book, and we would be oblivious
to the world (added advantage for parents - no nagging, no
getting-into-way, no fighting, no mischief :-)). It kind of pained me to
see that around 5.5 yrs not only had Sid not started to read properly,
but that he did not not even show any interest in reading stories. After
having his fill of playing and watching TV, he keeps nagging me about
what to do. I tried to explain to him that if he can read books himself,
he can enjoy the stories, and also avoid boredom. But I was not
successful in convincing him.Such is the irony of life - when I had enough time, I didn't have such a good facility available to me. For a while, I had borrowed books from a "library" run by someone in a rented garage, which mostly consisted of shabby, well worn copies, primarily of cheap thrillers and obscure titles, more likely bought from a 'raddiwala' than a used-book shop. After I while I got tired of the low "RoI" - walking to and from that garage, and not getting stuff I would have liked to read, and gave up on it. And now, with such a good facility available, that too so close by, I am not able to find the time. But, passion and practicality have been at a constant struggle in my mind ...
Finally, after contemplating for almost two years, I took a membership of "Just Books", in Feb. My own interest in reading was only a small part of the motivation. The primary reason was to encourage a love for reading in Sid.
That was when I thought that
perhaps the excitement of getting a new (as in unread) book (and the
restriction of having only one at a time) will get him interested. And
perhaps, after the excitement factor, a genuine interest and joy will
follow. Sometimes I make suggestions to him on which book to borrow, but his is the final choice. He is excited to go to the library almost every evening and choosing the next book. His reading speed and vocabulary are also improving, though I guess he is taking shortcuts at times - skipping through pages, or avoiding reading if he has heard the story before, or asking us to read after he has read a few pages. But well, one step at a time, and hope the pace continues ...
As for me, I have read more in last one month than I did in the last year (or two), including some books that I have wanted to read for a long long time. Some of them didn't turn out to be as good as expected, but you never know it until you have read it yourself, isn't it.
As for me, I have read more in last one month than I did in the last year (or two), including some books that I have wanted to read for a long long time. Some of them didn't turn out to be as good as expected, but you never know it until you have read it yourself, isn't it.
