I've been reading books since I can remember. My older brother and I were greatly influenced by our parents who were avid readers. I recall that my mama was always reading unless she was cooking, baking or crocheting. My papa always read as well, if he did not tinker his car. When I was younger, we often took shopping trips to Manila. You would think my mama lost herself on clothes, bags or shoes? Oh no, not even jewelry! Her most important stop was the bookstore!
I was introduced to novels as early as grade school, that's when I read Loiuse May Alcott's The Little Women. Who would miss reading that very famous book! Soon after that my mama bought me the Emily Loring novels. Oh yes, I had the entire collection; all of them in book bound; for it was only sometime later that her novels came out in paperbacks. My brother got his collection of Tom Sawyer.
Then there was Perry Mason, and soon after came Ian Fleming's James Bond Series. They all got me hooked and from then on, I was never without a book. In fact, I was the most frequent borrower in the entire school's library. When I was in college, reading books was my past time, especially on weekends when I could finish a paperback. When I was working, I would read at least one bestseller a month.
Why are books such a marvel? Books never fail to entice me. They are my all-time form of entertainment; very informative and very educational; though, like the movies or TV programs, we should be very discriminate about what we read, especially with children.
Books are the best alternative for travel; they transport us to places we never heard of, or have never seen before. Of course nowadays, there's television but before it's advent, we solely relied on books. Oftentimes books make us feel part of the story, they make us laugh or cry, they get us excited, scared or inspired; they give us ideas that we never imagined possible.
Some books have great value, famous First Editions are priceless, they are collectors items. Books have decorative value as well, especially when placed to compliment artifacts; arranged in bookshelves in attractive-colored background, they can aptly decorate an entire wall. They also make our tabletops more interesting.
Today, I am reading more than ever, in fact, so much, much more, It is part and parcel of my days. It is what I do for entertainment and relaxation, it helps me avoid worries and stress. Oh, what I'd do without a book?
At home there are books almost everywhere; in the bedroom and in the bathroom; I have a mini collection in my home office while I keep my cookbooks in the kitchen. My husband has his own set of books; some about golf, some Readers Digest condensed books and novels usually enjoyed by men. In the living room, we placed a big center table to display coffee table books.
The great philosopher, Cicero once said:
" a home without books is like a body without a soul".
Since the advent of ebooks my husband and I slowed down buying books, we even started disposing old paperbacks. We now read mostly from our iPads, though we never miss buying a great bestseller occasionally. Fortunately, one of our daughters took it upon herself to make sure we always have ebooks to read. We always look forward with excitement to her emails of ebooks. Recently, we had a windfall of ebooks when our son brought his USB containing 300! Now, that is like unearthing a treasure!
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