There’s an honest magic to reading books that brings about feelings one can only experience for themselves. For me, a trip to the bookstore is as exciting as a child’s desire to visit the town candy store. (That, admittedly being a top contender.)
It’s exhilarating to walk through the bookstore doors, and scan through hundreds of books, to see what catches my attention. Everything about a book is bewitching; from the smell while flipping through the pages to each author’s distinctive writing style. Between the pages of a book is a world filled with dreams, crisis and possibilities.
When I choose a book to read, I allow it into the most unguarded corners of my heart. I live vicariously through the characters, experiencing their highs and lows and often find myself heartily laughing out loud or choking back tears as if my heart has leapt onto the pages.
I find solace in reading with the faintest hum of reality dancing around me. I read through the day, and deep into the night; and as the clock finds its 15th hour, I'd find myself thinking, 'just one more chapter'. And as I turn to the last page, I hold my breath, trying to contain all my emotions. I become so swept up by the story and its characters that I often find it difficult to adjust back to reality for a moment. It’s like emerging from a trance-like state, only to look around and realize that everyone is just carrying on with their lives, while I, on the other hand, have experienced a whirlwind of emotions. It becomes a story that I savor for days afterward, only then looking forward to opening up to the first chapter of my next adventure.
I don't have a favorite book, but a few must reads:
Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple