It had been long, and I had not read a new author or a different genre. So, I decided to participate in reading challenges to up my knowledge graph

I can’t recall who introduced me to books or inculcated my reading habit. However, I remember that I had five trunks full of books that I would lug everywhere. These were my treasure. Unfortunately, circumstances didn’t permit me to keep this collection of over 3,000 books and I donated many of them to libraries and individuals, even sold some to booksellers.

Did you know the world’s first novel was written 1,000 years ago by a woman? Japanese epic The Tale of Genji was written by Murasaki Shikibu. The tale, following the life and romances of Prince Hikaru Genji, changed the way fiction was viewed. The most recent English translation is 1,300 pages long. But the book’s popularity goes back to 1925 when the English translation by Arthur Waley was reviewed by Virginia Woolf in British Vogue.

BBC

Back to reading during COVID-19 lockdown

Over the years, my reading time dwindled, but my love was still alive. It was the lockdown that helped in reviving my reading time. I took out all the books that had not seen sunlight for 10 long years. I am not kidding! After reading those 20 books, I patted myself. I wondered why I had not taken out the time to read a few pages daily. I don’t have the luxury of binge reading.

You might enjoy reading these books.

Why you must read daily

As we grow older, time becomes shorter because money becomes the priority. We chase the bills and not the knowledge, until one day we realise that knowledge drives the bills. From time to time, the brain needs to build new pathways and new skills. Reading has proven to be a time-tested habit to build those pathways. Reading is a good habit that helps maintain good mental health. Here are some scientifically proven benefits of reading:

1. Makes the brain stronger
2. Stops the brain from getting weaker, makes you live longer
3. Helps you learn more words, makes you understand others better
4. Makes you less stressed, less sad, helps you sleep better

The promise of reading daily

I promised myself that I would read at least 50 pages in a day. I presumed that 50 pages would mean 30-45 minutes of reading, but the time changed as per the genre. I managed to finish some books in an hour. However, I enjoy classical literature, and that is certainly a slow read.

Why I enjoy reading print books

However, I am not very fond of eBooks or reading on the computer. I find printed books blissful, almost heavenly. They are easy on the eyes and print has proven to have more retentive power. Slow and absorbing reading is beneficial. Digital rays tire the eyes and exhaust the brain.

Now, keeping my promise, I read more frequently and began to borrow from friends. I still have to return some books. I didn’t enjoy some, and I didn’t read the entire book sometimes because I lost interest mid-way. But I read all Enid Blyton books I could lay hands on.

Discovering more authors and books via groups

Then, I realised the power of Facebook groups and blogrolls on Blogchatter—the world is full of books, you just need time and space to read them. I like to read the views expressed by other participants as they also add to my knowledge graph, being on the road to inclusivity. After all, diverse viewpoints make this world what it is and give us this unlimited literature.

After seeing the number of active clubs, I began to wonder. If attention spans are so low, then why are people reading and writing so much? Why are there so many courses on writing novels? Why are some people selling dreams of becoming a published author in 21 days? Why is Instagram buzzing with books? Why are book review blogs rising? There are still new authors and long-form writers. You can read some reviews and author interviews on this blog as well.

Reading different genres

Groups brought interaction with people and their preferences. Some liked classical literature, others historical fiction, yet more were tuned to romance and thrillers. Fantasy and mystery are popular genres too. I enjoyed posts on Enid Blyton, Wilbur Smith, and other known and unknown authors. I expanded my literary horizon to include memoirs, biographies, self-help books, and those for young adults. I also began to read short stories on the web and listened to audiobooks.

Here are some audiobooks you might like to listen to.

Audiobooks are an art form in themselves. They remind me of the erstwhile oral storytellers. The voice, the diction, and the modulation bring the characters alive. Now, there’s sound mixing as well, giving a thorough feel of being in a deep hypnotic session. Try hearing the book with big headphones and no disturbance. In fact, I use Spotify and YouTube for these sessions, all for free. Audible by Amazon offers a larger library. Decades back, I had interviewed a visually impaired gentleman running an organisation for the visually impaired who talked about audio books, and now I realised what a pleasure hearing these professionally read stories is. It also enhances your hearing power.

As I read different genres now, I enjoy mysteries, thrillers, romance and young adult books, along with fairy tales and books based around mythology and history. I am not a great fan of sci-fi and horror.

Free books

I found sites where you can read books for free, even download pdfs. For newbie and self-published authors, these sites are: thefussylibrarian.com and bookdoggy.com. While I didn’t enjoy most of the books here. I did discover an interesting cosy mystery series, based in Africa, by author Victoria Tait. I then connected with her on email and published an interview on indie authors.

Yes, I did feel guilty about reading books for free, being a writer myself, but was heartened to know that Kindle pays the authors for the number of pages read. I read all of Victoria Tait’s Africa series on Kindle. And many more.

More Books with Reading Challenges

I started 2023 by participating in reading challenges and writing blog posts and social media posts. The joy of spreading the word about good things is manifold.

I discovered many literary styles and sites. I discovered that despite short attention spans and non-stop scrolling, there are things that catch your attention and you can bookmark them. However, I prefer to read as they come along; I might never come back again—some of these stories are just 2-minute reads.

You can read short stories here.

I also rediscovered comics, graphic novels and penned a post about that as well. I found an old encyclopaedia, dictionary, and even a book on grammar and good writing, all published by Reader’s Digest.

Reading led to my writing journey

I read and write as a professional journalist and editor, but that is factual writing. Creative writing is something that makes me feel on top of the world. I have authored cutout illustrated books for children on monuments of the world. These are available on Amazon (age group 3-10 year olds).

However, now the desire to pen my imaginative characters has grown stronger. From being a passive reader, I wanted to see if I could actually create a story. So, I experiemented with a couple of fiction pieces as well.  Both the stories have a mix of fact and fiction, well I have been writing real life, non-fiction stuff for over 25 years now. In fact, Waiting for Love, is among the top posts on Blogchatter. But I would like to pen something purely imaginative, say like the Lord of the Rings—another world, another species and another universe. But can I really do that? While I discover the power of my imagination, I continue reading.

I have kept a target of reading 24 books in a year, as it is easy to read two books in a month. I am more interested in enjoying a good book, rather than competing with people on the number of books I have read. The world is ever-evolving—I will never be able to read everything. I choose quality over quantity.

In six months, I have read 22 books—just two books aways from closing my annual target and that gives me room to add more to the reading board.

My #TBRlist has another 10 books lying in the cupboard. After all, books are #BFF.

I am participating in #TBRChallenge by Blogchatter.

Do you also participate in reading challenges? What’s on your reading list? Do share with us.

This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with Monidipa Dutta.