Books are the bread and butter of my life…

[You can read about my Shakespeare journey here]

A day without reading, or at the very least, without listening to one, is not a complete day for me.

I usually have two or three on the go.

Books are the joy of my everyday life.

I like to believe that I started reading better and better books over time. 

But I started my journey of regular reading with the Nancy Drew series and Famous Five series (by Enid Blyton). If I ever picked up a classic from my school library because I had heard of the book (Great Expectations, anyone?), it was the edited children’s version in under 100 pages. 

Next I moved on to Agatha Christie’s mysteries. My adultish reading journey began with Sidney Sheldon’s and John Grisham’s and Ken Follett’s writing…the pop culture of books of the time that were easy to get into and keep going.

But in between reading all these non-complex easy writing, I also picked up gems like Rebecca, or Gone with the Wind, or Pride and Prejudice. These opened my mind to the possibilities that lie in great books. And showed me what really good writing look like and how they can be life-changing. I still love these books and have read them multiple times.

My reading started with nothing complex, or intellectual. But it was enjoyable. 

It was the joy of reading what kept me going. I did not plan my reading journey but went along with whatever came my way that seemed digestible at that age and my reading level.

And the love affair continued.

I am thankful I was allowed to read whatever I felt like reading, even though I know now they were low grade books. But they were fun. Because it kept bringing me back to books again and again. Because, over time, as I grew, my taste in books grew, my reading ability grew, and I picked up better stuff over time.

Also, now that I think of it, my reading journey thus far, is a sort of a map of my life…my interests, my learnings, the way one book led to the next- they all reflect of how my life is going…of my growing up to become more me everyday.

What matters is the reading journey. It leads its own way, over time…

The trick is to keep going.