My Reading Journey: How Books Have Shaped My Life and How You Can Start Yours.

The curious person in me has made me an avid reader. I was very inquisitive about the things around me since childhood. And my mother always encouraged me to ask more and learn more. Since my mother is also fond of reading books, she always encouraged me to read books. Both my parents were members of the book library (My Mom is more into non-fiction & on the other hand, my dad was on the fiction side), so they got me a monthly subscription to 3 children's books, and that's how I started my journey as a reader. I remember the names of the books, Champak, Nanhe Samrat & Nandan. These were my monthly subscription books. 

Ufff!!! sweet memories of childhood :)

I had such a deep love for books; that I was not ready to give away the accumulation of my old books to anyone. In every summer vacation, my mom would ask me to donate the entire year's stack of books to a library. And I used to feel very sad about how can I give my books to someone else. So instead of donating books to the library, I asked my mother, "why not open a library during my summer vacations".
And as always, she encouraged me :) I clearly remember that I was in second grade at that time. Although my father was not so happy that I, being his child, and that was too at a very young age, I wanted to do something like this.
He asked me, "Why are you doing this? You have lots of books, and you are a member of a library, read books and then donate the pile to a library."
I simply answered, "Dad, I can afford the membership fee but, I have so many friends who can't afford it. Why don't we help them to read books for free."
And, he not only said yes but also gave me more books. So that I could read and later I could let people read them in my library for free.

I was deeply in love with books, in fact, I am, and I always will be, I guess :) Books provide me with a sense of peace and comfort that I can't find anywhere else. Some may think it's odd, but to me, books are like living things. They listen to me and offer answers when I need them. I become deeply upset when I can't find one of my books, it's as if I have lost a close friend. I am truly fortunate to have had the support and encouragement of my parents throughout my life.