The joys of reading…
Books are like magic – they take you to the world beyond your imagination, opening up your eyes to the harsh realities or pleasant experiences. Reading is by far the excellent way to spend time. Publishers across the world are worried that reading habit is decreasing. In reality, it is not so. People are reading – on their phones, tablets, kindles, computers…but perhaps they are not reading print books. They have an information overload…but this trend is slowly coming down. The joy of reading a print book is back!
Research has shown that ebook sales for the UK’s five biggest publishers fell in 2015, collectively declining 2.4%, to 47.9 million units. Amazon, which glorified the ebooks, has now opened up a physical bookstore. Things are positive and reading is not going away!
Parents, however, confuse reading with studying. Reading is a passion; it is a pastime…while studying is something different. All children study; few only read. Though schools have now started the summer reading assignments, but it is important that children read throughout the year.
Make it a habit, which they can continue for their lifetime. Take them to a bookstore. Let them pick books they like. Of course, you have to really check whether the books are age-appropriate and are offering good content. For a kid, you can start reading short stories with them. Let them look at the illustrations as you read aloud. While, older children will love to read books on their own. If you haven’t done it so far, do it now. There’s no age to read books. Remember, you have to be a role model…that means you should also read to set an example.
Indian book publishing industry is largely dominated by children books and they are nothing less than the foreign counterparts. So, what goes in making of these wonderful books? You can find about it in our special feature Children’s books: It’s not a child’s play.
I would like to conclude with the famous quote from Neil Gaiman, “A book is a dream that you hold in your hand.” And all those who are associated with the book publishing industry are making dreams come true for one and all!
Happy reading!
sonal@smediagroup.in
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