Reading, The Spice of ...

It's not every day that I come across a book that has me hooked from page one itself. In the rare event that I find such a book, a quavering sigh would escape me, involuntary shudders of pleasure will rack my person and I will bask in the contentment that my mind will be happily occupied the next couple of hours or days - depending on when I finish reading the book.

Yes, I absolutely detest the feeling of being bored to death. When I find myself stuck in a boring conversation in a meal or a party, it's kinda hard to extricate myself without being rude or abrupt. At least with boring books, they aren't hurt when I chuck them aside after a few pages. And they never seem to mind if I decide to delve into two, three and sometimes up to five books all at a time.

There are days when I simply do not have the time nor inclination to read. When all I could do was to sprawl in front of the tv and watch mindless movies. Then again, those no reading days are few and far between. I'm always happiest when surrounded by books. Books make waiting time bearable, sweet even. It's better than the movies because I can picture the scenery and characters exactly as what I think the author wants me to see. I lost count of the many times when I was revved up to see a movie adaptation of my favorite books only to be sorely disappointed to find that it was very different from what I imagined it to be. But I suppose the television has its benefits. It does remove the brain work involved in putting pictures into words but it teaches you (rightly or wrongly) how words are actually pronounced.

Case in point: I always thought the term 'social mores' was pronounced as 'social moors' until I watched a movie and discovered that it's actually pronounced as 'social mo-rays'.

So while I do have a vast vocabulary in the English language thanks to my years of reading non-audio books, I may not be able to pronounce them accurately. But then again, how often would I get to use the word 'mores' in my daily conversation with my family and friends?

Photo Credits: JS