The Perks and Pleasures of Reading: This Pandemic Stay At Home and Read

Remember when this year began? Seems like just a couple of months back, right? Remember when the Pandemic started and the lockdown was announced. Seems like yesterday, right? Everyone was baking cakes and playing ludo, believing that staying at home 24*7 wouldn’t last for more than a couple of weeks or a month. But, it’s been nine months since 2020 started and along with it, the ongoing Pandemic.

We would like to wish, even if we don’t believe it anymore, that COVID-19 is going away. But reality check, it’s here to stay, together with our masks, sanitizers, and fear, at least until a well-researched vaccine is developed.

Now, you can either whine, be annoyed, and cry about it. Or you can buckle up and use the time efficiently to learn and grow.

While there are several ways to utilize the time, such as, learn a new skill, update your portfolio, develop a hobby, we are going to talk about a habit which is paramount in every individual—reading.

Why reading is important?

If you look at the habits of successful people or people who know a lot about a lot of things, then there would be one habit you will find in common —reading.

We can’t stress this enough. Everyone should read, irrespective of your professional field, general view of life or lifestyle.  You can read books in any language, any genre, any format, but you should read.

If you truly want to become successful in life, one of the things you must do is read. Reading not only helps you understand the world better, but it also aids you in seeing the world differently. It builds your language and vocabulary and is excellent to develop patience and concentration.

To quote Barack Obama, “Reading is important. If you know how to read, then the whole world opens up to you.”

However, technology has overwhelmed our lives, and we spend hours looking at our phone or endlessly binge-watching TV series, but when asked to pick a book and read, we come up with excuses like; busy with work; no time; too tired, don’t know where to start and the worst -it’s too boring.

If you are one among hundreds of folks who want to read but never get around it, then fret not, The Panel Station is here to aid you in your goal.

Listed below are five books to help you kick start reading:

A Book of Simple Living: Brief Notes from the Hills by Ruskin Bond:

If you aren’t familiar with Ruskin Bond’s work, then this gem of a book is an excellent place to start. With easy flowing language and life lessons gathered through age and experience, A Book of Simple Living is a book of collection of everything and nothing in particular.  Bond, an Indian author of British origin,  pens words- often his life snippets- which fills you with warmth and compassion not just for humans but for every living creature under the sun.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie:

Unless you are living under a rock, you must have heard of Agatha Christie, the queen of mystery who is still bewitching readers even after 80 years. And Then There Were None is one of her most famous works. The plot follows a group of 10 strangers—all of them with dark, murderous secrets, invited on an isolated island. With their host nowhere to be found and bewildered by the turn of events, soon the strangers start dying one by one. The survivors try to get off the island and find out who the killer is or is the killer one among them.

Trust us, this one is hard to put down.

Animal Farm by George Orwell:

If you want to read a classic book, without getting lost in the language and complexity, then Animal farm is for you. Not complicated it may be, but plain old novella its not. George Orwell brilliantly recreates the Russian revolution of 1917 and the Stalin era in the farm animals of fictional Manor farm in England. It describes how revolution often born from a noble cause, gets corrupted along the way and mirrors the very structure, one fought to overthrow.

An essential read, don’t miss this one.

Tuesday with Morrie by Mitch Albom:

Written over 20 years ago, the beauty of this book hasn’t faded a bit. A true story of last interactions between a dying teacher and his old student, Tuesdays with Morrie has the rare ability to make you smile and cry at the same time. Loads of people swear by this book and say it has helped them during hard times. If you want to start reading with a book that will leave you with a lasting impression, then go with Tuesdays with Morrie.

A timeproof memoir to make you feel alive again, we highly recommend this.

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank:

A personal journal of a 13-year-old Anne Frank who went into hiding when Nazis occupied the Netherlands during World War 2. It talks in detail the thoughts and feelings of an adolescent child who was coming to terms with the ongoing war, and her family’s eventual hiding, and the fear of being found and punished. Even with all the atrocities going on around her, Anne tries to see good in others and says, “In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.”

A compelling and moving tale of WW2 through the eyes of a 13-year-old. A must-read.

Take Away

The perk of reading is that you don’t need something or someone to pass the time, a good book and some quiet place, and you wouldn’t notice the time go by. Books contain in them, treasure far more valuable than gold—it has within its yellow pages knowledge, lessons, experience, truths, and tales of centuries. Make books your best friend, and you would never be alone. Make books your best friend, and you would never be dull again.