Letters to my son: Part 2_About Books

 Dear Chora

Last night when we were reading 'The Giving Tree' by Shel Silverstein, you said that the tree was sad. I never explain the texts for you or translate it for you to understand because I think it is important you learn to interpret what you read and add your own meanings to it so when you said that the tree was sad, I was very pleasantly surprised because it meant you were starting to understand the emotions of the characters in the books that you read. I may do a lot of things wrong but I know for sure that deciding to read to you everyday has been the best decision in life. 

I am writing this letter about books today. I started reading books when I was in high school. I started with Sidney Sheldon and other crime thrillers. It was a good start for me because it kept me hooked. Then when I was in college, I started reading Paulo Coelho and other books that my brother would buy for me. I'd borrow some books from his shelf and read them. It is only after college that I started going to the bookstores and exploring new authors. I don't know how to say this but reading is such a joyful, enriching and fulfilling activity and I wish I can pass that feeling onto you because even in our most desperate situations, books can keep us company and there are also times in life when I have read a book and found a way out of my troubling situation. Books take us to places where we can't reach, meet people with different personalities and live through someone else's experiences and also learn from them. You can read whatever genre you like. It could be the bestseller or something not many have ready. You can finish one book in a day or take a month to finish one but what's important is that you read everyday.

I don't know if books make us smarter or intelligent but I know for sure that books help us see things in a different light. It makes us empathetic and open to exploring new places and new people. And if nothing else, books definitely help us pass our time easily,

when we are bored at home or waiting for our order in a café or waiting to board a plane. Here's hoping that you fall in love with books. 

Love 

Elisha

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