BOOKS ARE FRIENDS

by Ashok Silwal
… in the World Book Day

In the great worldwide mosaic of initiatives
On the occasion of the joyful 2021 WORLD BOOK DAY,
Especially aimed at children, with the patronage of UNESCO,
Sending a powerful and positive message about books,

Let’s make our minuscule and most humble contribution
In a kind of ‘poetic list’
Of the countless potentialities of reading;
Because YES…, READING IS NOT JUST READING…

Reading is

DISCOVERING: new people, new contexts, new works, new countrie…, marveling and being surprised by the thousand things that make every day in different places.

FEELING: empathizing and identifying with the characters; crying and laughing with them, sharing their struggles, their loves, their enthusiasms, their disappointments…,

HEARING: the melody of the words, their nuances and riches, the songs and the noises in the story too.

LISTENING: to the voices, to the sounds of animals, to the shouts and to the whispers…, where they come from and where they get lost…

SEEING: the landscapes, mountain and sea, rainy or sunny, in the streets and on the roads, in the town and in the countryside.

LEARNING: about all kinds of topics… psychological, sociological, anthropological, philosophical, medical, aesthetic, gastronomic…

EXCHANGING: culture.. yours and the one in the story of the book.

PARTICIPATING: to the events of the story, the small ones and the strong ones that turn the life of the protagonists upside down… living with them.

COMPARING: what you are reading and what you are living… fiction and reality…

INVENTING: new situations inside and outside the story… so reading becomes a new starting for creating …

IMAGINING: atmospheres, intentions of the writer …

BECOMING MORE TOLERANT : understanding better the meaning of the story, the behaviors of the characters … the ‘why’ …

DEVELOPING SENSITIVITY and CRITICAL SENSE: reading, reading, reading … Refining your taste and understanding what you like …

RELAXING: face down on the bed or lying in a meadow … somewhat ‘asleep’ in the story or dreaming …

… CREATING… WAITING … THINKING … AGREEING … REFUSING … THRILLING … ENJOYING … GETTING BORED …

… READING VERY FAST OR VERY SLOW …

Because READING
is passion,
is joy,
is curiosity,
living hundred of stories-lives …

Even reading a book that is not your ‘cup of tea’, even feeling it too long, boring … it will leave always a print… maybe just the beautiful colored cover where the illustrator has put his talent …

Because … ‘BOOKS ARE FRIENDS THAT NEVER FAIL US.’ So ‘COME, MY BEST FRIENDS, MY BEST BOOKS, AND LEAD ME ON.’