Pleasure or recreation is necessary in life
Hard work is very necessary in life to be happy, healthy and wealthy. Pleasure or recreation is also necessary to make our life charming and worth living constant hard work affects our mental and physical health badly and makes us miserable human beings. It is beyond doubt that the books give us the most useful pleasure. The pleasures of reading are known to every educated man or woman. They are countless.
A lover of books is a happy human being
Few pleasures are more real and lasting than the pleasure of reading. It is a misfortune that reading is often not regarded as the duty of students. People, in general, feel that the reading of books is no longer necessary or desirable. A lover of books is never in need of a friend to give him or her company. Long journeys are never a source of fatigue to him or her. Independent reading is the greatest asset of an educated person.
Books give us counsel, guidance and hope
Reading and posses sing books is to live in the company of the greatest thinkers and sages. Every man, when he is in difficulty, stands in need of a person who can guide him, encourage him and give him hope and solace. Books serve all these purposes at the same time. They live with him in dark days as well as in bright days. They are his support in sorrow and partners in joy.
Influence of books
Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. Reading sharpens the intellect; purifies the character and -develops the personality. As Francis Bacon remarks, “Reading maketh a full man; Conference a ready man; Writing an exact man.” Love of reading has to be acquired early in life. The period at school or college can be used for developing this taste If we fail to cultivate this love in our boyhood or early youth, we will probably never cultivate it later on. Without reading books, we remain narrow in outlook and dull in understanding. In short, books give us moral tonic.
How we should read ?
We should never read any book that is not a year old. We should never read any but the famed books. We should never read any but what we like. Regarding reading, we should keep in mind always these three points. It is always better and more useful to read wisely than to read wildly and hurriedly. Reading should be followed by meditation.
Conclusion – Which books we should read ?
Due care should be taken in the selection of books. Reading naturally leads us to the great task of selecting the right kind of books and the choice of books is no ordinary affair, especially in view of the flood of books visible in the market. Biographies and autobiographies, travel books, histories etc., have their own importance in human life. Vulgar books should not be read at all because they pollute our mind. First of all, old good books should be read chewed and digested. Such books are easy to find because they stand out with prominence in the market of books, T B. Macaulay has aptly remarked “I would rather be a poor man in a garret with a plenty of books than a king who did not love reading.”