Friend in need, books indeed!

How many of us really spend time reading every day? By reading we do not mean newspapers or messages on the mobile. We mean, meaningful reading which actually adds on to your wisdom or knowledge bank.

Very few of us. We update our wardrobe and gadgets but why not about knowledge bank? Is it because our school system creates individuals who are used to “reading” only for getting through exams through rote? And as we look ahead, unless we read, our skills could expire.

There has to be some reason why former US President Obama read one hour a day even while in office. Or why Warren Buffett says he spent 80% of his time reading and thinking throughout his career. Even Bill Gates took reading very seriously – he read one book per week and took a two-week reading vacation every year. So, when some of the busiest and most impactful men of our times make this time to read, why do we constantly come up with excuses of how we do not have the time to read? Err… reading does not refer to the inane, zillion messages we read on social media. This is books – physical or digital.

As Alvin Toffler rightly says, “the illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

With bookshops and libraries around us closing down, the pandemic gives us the time to really rethink the way we earn our money and live our life.