books revisited.

Edward Morgan once wrote: A book is the only place in which you can examine a fragile thought without breaking it, or explore an explosive idea without fear it will go off in your face. It is one of the few havens remaining where a man's mind can get both provocation and privacy.

I am completely fascinated by the remarkable power that books have over some people in this world. Of course, different people are affected by different stories or different books in different ways; but in the end…one sole objective is so often achieved by a book: the information that our minds gather from the white pages within often stays with us long after we have read the last chapter.

Personally, I have always believed that a book is not a good one if the reader remains impervious to what their eyes have read. I do not understand the minds of those who are too lazy to think about what they are reading and who refuse to read between the lines of the spellbinding words that have been strung together.

In the words of Edmund Burke: To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting.

So many of the world's greatest thinkers were at their best in the pages of their publications. The thoughts that manifested themselves into new-age theories and ideas that people live their lives by were specifically transcribed by those human wonders to serve our very need to gain knowledge and be awed by the thoughts of another.

Albert Einstein said that: Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.

Although i dare argue with a man whose intelligence ranks far beyond mine, I have to disagree with him. Reading stimulates thought and imagination. Granted that when we read it is that of another's thoughts but that doesn't mean we mindlessly sit and stare at the pages of books, doing nothing to furthen our intellect.

In turn, this brings me to a question to which the answer often amuses me.
Why do people refuse to read books?

I don’t think I have ever gotten an answer to this question that hasn’t sounded like a pitiful excuse for someone who is merely too lazy to broaden their minds.
If someone cannot read then they can learn to do so. If books are too expensive to purchase then making use of a library is just as rewarding. For me, there is, of course, no true answer that would pass as acceptable.

People also may say that they do not agree with anything that is written in books. To those people I say: if you resist reading what you disagree with, how will you ever acquire deeper insights into what you believe? The things most worth reading are precisely those that challenge our convictions.

Then again, this is just me. My opinion may be of little importance to anyone else. I love getting lost in the make-believe world of literature. I love visualizing the characters of the various books that I read and the worlds in which the stories evolve. Books allow me to remain true to my already very active imagination and I frequently use books to escape. Every so often I find that I would rather live in the world of the book than that of my own reality.

I cannot help but to agree with Charles Elliot who said: Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.

Whatever the type of book and whoever the author, i take nothing away from the fact that books are amazing. I say screw the internet and all of its complexities...there is a world of knowledge in the very place that so few care to look.

Someone pointed out to me the other day how few people go to libraries nowadays. Even worse, people are replacing books with those hand-held screens that download the books from the web. People would rather choose to sit and watch television or play on their latest gaming console than sit outside or huddled up on the couch with a good book. What is television if not a source of motivation to anyone thinking of giving up their mind’s rights to have an imagination?

And although technology is equally as amazing as books, it is quite sad that with all of the wonders and advantages that continuously developing technology brings, comes a dying race of what used to be.

In my world, the novelty of a good book will never fade. If I could pack just a suitcase of books have fallen in love with then I fear I would meet a great demise.

There are many things to argue about in this world.
For now I leave you with this: If there's a book that you wish to read but it hasn't yet been written, then why not write it yourself?