It starts with a line, line by line, putting pages together and book gets marked as ‘read’. At the other side along the read, the ‘To-Be-Read’ list keeps growing. Books get piled up.
All this happens amidst life chronicles where:
- reading is a leisure activity or
- that thing which keeps life sane or
- it is habitual routine or
- something else like that.
We might not know how reading became a habit. It could be a family thing. It could be friend passed thing. It could just be a thing, whatever, with no association tags. There is this important thing – reading.
One fine day, at some part of some book, there comes an enlightening moment. It comes for no reason and it comes out of no expectation.
You stop reading!
Not because it got mind-numbing or tiresome but because the book just got close to heart. It’s not just the book anymore but it also brings something together. That something, which is very close and dearer to heart. It’s not just the lines that are being read but a gather of emotions and events. It’s not just the pages that are turning but it’s the flashes of memories and associations. You stop and go lost in the universe created by the book. While also you cry, not knowing the reason why. It’s just a good feeling that way.
That is when a ‘Favorite Book’ is found. It occupies a best place on the book shelf. The hunt now begins for another such book. Most next reads turn out to be a disappointment or may be even lead to a readers block. The reading goes on. One will never know when such moment would occur again.
I have got four such books so far. How many do you have?
Note: This is a scheduled post. More Here.
Never really counted but there are quite a few such books which I would love to reread. But then there are so many new ones that I never find time to reread an old one.
LikeLiked by 1 person
True. I have so far not read any book twice. There are so many out there!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Gosh there are so many that we go back too and re-read. But you are right about going through so many to find the few that you want to come back too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Its the association that gets along the book. 🙂
Thank you for sharing the thoughts.. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love the way you talk about books and reading, PH. Not to be sacrilegious, as you know I’m a woman of sincere faith, but you convey an almost “holy” feeling to it which I can appreciate and relate to. When I was a young girl I read mostly to escape–for the comfort of entering a world where I’d be safe…I wish I knew exactly how many books I read then. These days, I don’t read as much–due to the blogging world’s allure, and writing poetry–and it seems I don’t find a lot of really good books. Many seem formulaic–without real “spirit” or substance to them–just flat characters doing the same thing over and over. Recently though, I read a fabulous novel called “Mercy Snow”–the characters are deep and credibly written, and the story’s mystery kept me turning the pages. For light reading, my fave author is Philip Gulley–he’s a Quaker pastor who writes delightful fiction about characters you know are true (names changed to protect the innocent! 🙂 ) Happy Reading!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
With recent books, I agree. Most of them i read were disappointment. Now I have switched back to classics and old one. They give the good feel.
This comment was such a delightful read. I will sure check out Mercy Snow and Philip Gulley.
Thank you so much for sharing this. It had smiles.. 🙂
LikeLike
You make an excellent point, PH–it’s the newer books that seem lacking (as if writing books is merely a business, rather than an art), but the classics hold true. By the way, Tiffany Baker is the author of Mercy Snow–the story might appeal more to female readers, but as for its exquisite writing, men would appreciate it too, I think.
LikeLiked by 1 person
True..
I will look for Tiffany Baker. I can sure try!
LikeLike
Hope you have a good weekend 🙂
LikeLike
We meet, one day, that particular book that becomes a part of our soul, that we will see life through it and its words will be forever stuck in our memory. Even that we think that we have forgotten them, they will appear whenever we need them, and their echo will follow us everywhere.
this book will change our life and who we are, it will be our eternal best friend and companion.
The problem after finding this book is as you said: “Most next reads turn out to be a disappointment or may be even lead to a readers block”. After reading this particular book, you will start looking at the same kind of books, but rare are people who could find one.
For me, my favorite book opened a new world to me, I could learn a lot because of it.
Waiting to find my next “vedette”, I re-read it once in a while.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is exactly this thought that made me pen this post.
The much loved book and That wait for the next one is everything all about. Thank you so much for this lovely comment. I was all smiles reading this. 🙂
Thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts.. 🙂
LikeLike
I’ve quite a number of such books on my list 😀 Most of them are Bengali books…
LikeLiked by 1 person
oh, good to know that. More the better.. 🙂
LikeLike
Books do this to us- they make us their worshipers and we, without any reluctance, let them do that. There is no addiction as good as books. And to be one of its addicts, one may even feel some pride within. Maybe. Books just do this to us, Prakash. ❤
Even though I haven't read many books but I still have a pretty large list of mine. Let me share a few names of that list- The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns (which, as far as I can remember, got me into real reading,) The Interpreter of Maladies, Unaccustomed Earth, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, The Wedding. These are the ones which came to my mind without 'trying' to recollect; and these are the ones that I'd love to reread any day. 🙂
LikeLike