Becoming a Bookworm

Tasmia Mayen
Photos: Kazi Tahsin Agaz Apurbo

Most of the young adults face difficulties as they do not know how to form a reading habit.

"Why reading a book?” I am not going to answer this question nor going to describe how a book can enlighten us because this is not for those fellow mates of mine who do not have any clue for why they should increase their reading habit rather spending hours over facebooking, but, this is for my those mates who really want to thrive into a land of wonder but do not know from where or how they should begin.

As I have noticed, many of my teenaged or young adult friends are not much into reading but some of them really want to get involved with books like fictions and novels. But the trouble they face is that they do not know how or with which kind of books they should start with because they think they are too old for fairy tales and too naïve for Tagore's novels. Some of non-reader people start reading heavy writer or illustrated classic novels or books written on serious issues and later they cannot complete it and lose their interest. As a result they get discouraged and keep a fair distance from their fear. It happens because they are unable to relate themselves with certain kinds of books. May be they find the language or the topic irrelevant with the contemporary time. It is totally normal for a person who has always pondered into texts but nothing else. So, what they need is a little guide to help them building a good habit.

Almost a year ago, one of my very close friends revealed a nearby problem to me and asked for a considerable solution. Even i got very confused by listening to her misery. Finally I came up with a solution and I gave her a movie based on a classic novel named “Lady Chatterley's Lover” written by D H Lawrence. After a couple of days she came running towards me and desperately asked for some more movies similar to that. No wonder she liked ii but this time I disappointed her a bit and gave her a short story collection of D H Lawrence and told her to read out any single story from that collection. At first she seemed a bit obscure but I assured her to supply more movies if she completes that. After a week one night she called me up and Voilà! The miracle happened when she said that she had read out the entire book! It is no longer a wondering matter if any one sees her borrowing books from library.

I am not saying instead of reading books anyone should start watching movies based on novels but watching a movie can be a good start to change the perception about the classic books. While choosing a book a reader must keep one thing in his mind that it should not become a burden on him. It depends more on reader's genre of interest and less on thriving conventional suggestions. Starting with classics can be a good jump. Short stories of Rabindranath Tagore, D H Lawrence, O Henry, Franz Kafka, and R K Narayan might interest one to look forward into reading more. If you do not feel connected with any sort of book then try something shorter and less complicated. If it is still not working for you then change the category and experiment with other sorts, like if the thriller is not working out then try some comedy or political or fiction. Contemporary writers like Humayun Ahmed, DR Jafar Iqbal, Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, Sydney Sheldon, J K Rowling, Stephenie Meyer can be considered for those who cannot transmit with earlier master pieces. But the media of language should be comfortable to the reader so that one does not loose the track after reading few lines.

If it still does not ring a bell then surprise yourself with all-time classic comic books, or may be even with fairy tales! Do not feel ashamed, rather consider yourself as a good beginner and try to reassemble all the joys from which you have been kept away.