Prof Dr Md Mahmudul Hassan :
The world-famous writer Maxim Gorkio said, “I am indebted to the book for anything that is good in me.” Every most successful person in the world reads books to satisfy their infinite thirst for knowledge. Early in his career, Warren Buffett read 800-1000 pages a day. Bill Gates finishes 50 books each year. Elon Musk has learned rocket science through reading books. Mark Kuban reads books for more than 3 hours every day. Mark Twain says, “Good friends, good books and a calm conscience, make my life ideal”.
So, books are needed for the success of life and for the development of human civilization. We have to read books, write books and always deal with books. Books are the best friend of our life. If we read a book, its effect on life can be noticed instantly. The reactions we get from reading a book can be deduced from the following points:
The book increases the emotional excitement of the reader. A study says that reading books helps dementia and Alzheimer’s be reduced or even prevents these two diseases. Keeping the brain active by reading books will never lose its power. Considering the brain as a normal muscle of the body, regular exercise through reading books keeps it strong and alive.
Reading books reduces the mental stress of the reader. People with mental illness can live a stress free life, if they read good books regularly; they may even get back to normal life. The mystery of reading a book is likely that it can take a person to an unknown world in an instant or to travel at a time he never imagined. A good paragraph or story book is a great way to reduce stress and bring back peace of mind. Shyarat Chandra Chattopadhyay has rightly said, “The burden of the sorrows and hardships of one’s life is greatly reduced by one who can read books as a companion.”
Reading books is a brain exercise. Jonathan Swift rightly said, “Books are the child of the brain”. Researchers said, reading books stimulates the complex cells deep inside the brain and stimulates the nerves there. It helps in relieving the stress of the reader. While reading, his brain immediately wanders to a different world and he can concentrate on what he is reading. In this way, reader’s mental practice increases due to various movements of the brain.
Reading books enriches the vocabulary and gives experience in word choice and syntax. The more books are read; the newer words are constantly added to the vocabulary. It develops reader’s expression skills, which must be beneficial in professional life. There is no substitute for reading books to learn a new language. It helps to master any new language very quickly. He can master many unfamiliar words by reading books, which are useful in his daily conversation.
Reading books illuminates memory power. For example, when one reads a story book, one has to remember the various characters, history, background, purpose of the story, sub-segment, etc. of the story. Although these databases seem burdensome to us, the brain has an extraordinary ability to remember everything. Each new memory creates a new synapse, reinforces existing memory and improves short-term memory.
Reading books improves analytical thinking. Every book is written for one purpose or another and contains a wide range of information which helps the reader acquire knowledge and develop thinking ability. There are various analyses in the book about the descriptions of events, similes, references, backgrounds and sources of discovery etc., which awakens a thinking ability in the reader’s mind and increases his analytical power.
Reading books increases the reader’s writing and reading skills. The book that the reader reads is basically written from the special knowledge or experience of the author of that book. That knowledge can accelerate the reader’s knowledge and lead to his success. It is seen in various books that the author discusses the successes and failures of his life and the details of how he has recovered from that failure are recorded in that book. From that writing or story one can know which path and method is adopted to ensure success and also reduce the possibility of mistakes.
Therefore, in the intellect and mindfulness that we develop through reading books, books can be our dearest friend in life. By buying books and reading we can model the pace of our lives and rise to the pinnacle of progress. That is why it is necessary to give books to our children and inspire them to read to learn about the advanced civilization of the world. Voltaire said, “The country will never be able to present itself as civilized unless most of its money is spent on books instead of chewing gum”. Omar Khayyam’s famous quote is great for understanding the importance of a book, he says, “Bread and wine will run, lover’s black eyes will become dim but a book is eternal youth, if it is a good book.”
(Prof Dr Md Mahmudul Hassan is Principal, Daffodil
International School).
