From avoiding books to loving them, reading has helped me focus and express myself in another medium that isn’t drawing.
It all started three years ago when I was exploring the Sharjah International Book Fair. A book with an interesting title caught my attention, I picked it to skim through its pages and it was the first line of the book that brought tears my eyes. I decided to purchase the book immediately because I was amazed at how written words can stir your emotions strongly. This was the first time I ever felt a connection with a book, and this was my ticket into the world of books and reading.
I read more than 50 pages of that book in one sitting, and I completed it in four days. As a person who was not used to reading much, this was a big achievement for me! This motivated me to develop a reading habit, and I went from being an anti-reader to an avid reader.
Generally, I’m a visual person and prefer watching videos or listening to lectures over reading. The reason behind this is that I get distracted easily while reading or even, sometimes, get a headache. When I reflect on my connection with books, however, I realize that I have had an attachment to them within me because of my annual visits to the Sharjah International Book Fair as a child. Those visits have a very special place in my heart, and played a big role in shaping my budding love story with reading. A big smile spreads on my face whenever I see the countdown advertisement for the book fair across the UAE.
Another connection I have with books is the memory-scent triggers; I really enjoy closing my eyes and smelling the pages of a book to let the scent take me back in time to school days. Certain types of paper also remind me of specific subjects; Science and Arabic books had thick papers, while English books had thinner ones, and they each had a different smell.
Five years ago, I felt that my emotions and messages were no longer being translated and delivered clearly through drawing. That’s why I decided to start writing and have loved it ever since! Surprisingly, what I wrote received positive feedback from my audience on social media, including both general public and professionals. I owe this to the Arabic cartoons that I used to watch during my childhood, because they helped me store a vast vocabulary bank in my subconscious mind.
I realized that the more we grow, the more our desire for knowledge would increase. So far, I have read 10 books from different categories: religion, novels, and self-development. I’m still in the phase of steadily exploring the world of the written word, both through reading and writing and I’m enjoying it. I won’t bother myself looking for a book to read because I believe books choose the reader, and the right book will find me.
From Anti-Reader to Avid Reader
What a nice article. I am visual learner myself but I noted that the reason I read lots of books is because I only read what I am truly interested in. If the story interests me or the subject matter does, I just cannot put the book down till I finish it. I am not a huge fiction reader and consider fiction readers the true book lovers because they have the passion and patience to read hundreds of pages of imaginary stuff just to live that journey. For me, I prefer watching movies of those, including Harry Potter, Hunger Games,… because my imagination would not beat the imagination of those producers actors and film makers that transform words perfectly into an ambiance with colors and sounds and expressed emotions. But, if it is a biography, or a real story of someone telling a tale about what happened, or if it is a business or self development (to avoid the self help) topics, I prefer to read those. I also liked Paolo Coelho’s books. Laurent Gounelle as well! While they are fiction, they actually improve your lifestyle and promote wellbeing in the process. I guess for me reading is not much the journey but the bottom line knowledge I gain at the end and I want to get to the bottom of it which is why I don’t put the book down till I am done and done. While fiction fanatics, they love the journey and the expressions and put the book down for a couple of days then pick it back up. I am fortunate though in that I can read and fully understand Arabic, French, and English all as a native. This helps me explore not only how the stories are told in various cultures without anything lost in translation, but also I read same books in two or three languages just to see how it feels and it is an amazing feeling because it is the same book but feels different. It is like drinking the same tea but from a mug, versus a fancy English royal tea cup, versus an Arabian glass cup 🙂