Book Fanatic
(Shumaila Binte Saif, Karachi)
“Please dad, buy me a smart
phone, I will read novels on it”.
I said this to my dad when he had refused to buy me a smart phone 3 years ago. I
used to think how amazing my life would be if I got a smart phone. I wouldn’t
have to go to market to buy novels, instead I would read them on my phone. I
wouldn’t have to carry big bulky novel all the time. I could enjoy reading
novels anytime, anywhere I want.
well, I convinced my dad somehow and he bought me a smart phone on my birthday.
I was way too much excited and happy to have it. I downloaded one of my favorite
novels “HARRY POTTER and the order of phoenix”. Though I already had this book
on my shelf. Anyways, I started reading it And I could hardly, HARDLY read ONE
CHAPTER. I felt so uncomfortable reading novel in a cell phone.
I missed holding physical books. At that time I got to know that it isn’t ONLY
about reading. It’s about the whole experience. It’s about the feeling these
words make you feel. It’s the place where these words take you. It’s the smell
of your old, favorite book or the feel of the sleek of the pages of a newly
bought book. It’s the sound of pages rustling through your fingers as you flip
the pages. It’s the texture of the cover page. It’s about the time when an
emotional paragraphs come up and you hug your book tightly to absorb that moment
or that kiss you give to your book when your favorite character does something
amazing.
It’s the time when you fall asleep while reading a book. It’s about the memories
which that book brings back. It’s about the little cute notes you had put in the
book when you first read it. Reading a book is not simply ‘reading the words’,
its rather a full body and mind experience which takes your reading time to
another level. It’s not only about the written words, it’s about your whole
reading journey.
If you are a passionate reader then you would definitely know how wonderful this
feeling is. Going to book stores, gliding through bookshelves and that little
expedition you do with your friends to search your favorite books makes your
mood very delightful. You feel the happiness rushing through your vein. Yes,
this is how a “book fan” feel. This is how a true reader feel whenever he is
around books.
I would never think of giving up my books for any new technology in the world.
No matter how amazing these gadgets are or how convenient they make everything
for us but there are some things which can never be replaced. And books are one
of those things.