Joy of reading

Just a few days ago, I wrote to you on the “joy of writing”. Today, I am going to write on the “joy of reading”.

Before I say my piece, let’s listen to what these wise men and women had said about books and on reading.

"To sit alone in the lamplight with a book spread out before you, and hold intimate converse with men of unseen generations--such is a pleasure beyond compare". ~ Kenko Yoshida

"When you read a book, you hold another's mind in your hands. ~ James Burke

I love to lose myself in other men's minds". ~ Charles Lamb

"Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for". ~ Socrates

"Read not to contradict and confute, nor to believe and take for granted, nor to talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider". ~ Francis Bacon (Essays)

"Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill". ~ Barbara Tuchman

"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body". ~ Joseph Addison

"The love of books is a love which requires neither justification, apology, or defence". ~ J. A. Langford, The Praise of Books (1880)

"Books are the ever burning lamps of accumulated wisdom". ~George Curtis

"I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library". ~ Jorge Luis Borges

"Great literature is simply language charged with meaning to the utmost possible degree". ~Ezra Pound

Combining the 2 passions (i.e. reading and writing) if you are in retirement I dare say, you would have your retirement made, well almost. To me, there is a third joy i.e. the “joy of sharing”, which I shall write about on another occasion.

I would say that reading, and to a large extent writing and sharing also, is a special kind of language that catches and crystallizes our lives. It may surprise us to know that we are who we are largely not by what we eat, but by what we read, speak and write!

The English philosopher Francis Bacon nailed this down a long time ago when he said, “reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man”. Sooner or later, you will probably find that this is true.

Fame and fortune may buy us many things. But one thing for sure that fame and fortune cannot buy is “blessedness”. Indeed, blessed is he who will read, write and share.

Reading wonderful books may well be the closest we ever really come to experiencing true magic, for truly when we follow the author into the story, our imagination will literally take on wings!

If you have nothing good to read, then read the Bible, known to be the most widely read book of all time. I am told that it has the power to transform lives. Isn’t that magical and larger than life itself?

In reading, writing, and sharing, they enlarge our humanness and our humanity. You might say the world is made up of many good books and truly, the man who does not read any of these good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.

It has been said that men of power have no time to read, yet the men who do not read are unfit for power. How true is this? Think on it.

Every read of a good book or interesting article is an enriching experience. When we reflect on what we have read, we start to think, and the follow through thinking makes us a lot wiser. We are more able to discern between the good and the bad, and distinguish the right from the wrong.

The ability to discern is an enrichment of our mind and soul. It is an empowerment. We stand tall among men and women when we can bring to bear our knowledge which we have acquired through much reading. It is a joy, a personal satisfaction beyond compare.

My advice to you therefore, is to develop this invaluable habit to read, to read not out of pressure or a need to read, but to enjoy reading for its own sake, not hurried but at your own leisurely pace.

Echoing the much respected, contemporary literary figure of today, Richard Lederer, I would say in conclusion that I have never found another entertainment that is as inexpensive and accessible as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting.

Happy reading!