Growing up in the 1990s in India, in a middle-class family, had constraints – and in retrospect, those constraints were GOOD for learning and creativity.
There were just two TV channels, DD National and DD Metro, with limited programming. No streaming, no computers, no internet, no smart phones. I read books both for fun (fiction, I remember reading lots of Enid Blyton, some Judy Blume) and knowledge (Brittanica, self-help books like Dale Carnegie’s how to make friends and influence people), and also maintained a journal where I summarized the books I read, and what I learnt from them…
My mom used to take me to BC Roy Children’s Reading Room and Library, each Saturday I believe, by taking a DTC bus and a bit of walking. Eventually, she had confidence to send me alone a couple of times, or may not – my memory plays tricks. We used to read in their reading room, and also borrow books at times.
As studies became more intense in higher classes (e.g., X for boards, XI and XII to get into a good college, then SRCC and Chartered Accountancy), and subsequently to make a mark in corporate world – reading took a back seat. I remember reading very less, and only a handful of books comes to mind in an entire stretch of 2000-2021 – seven habits of highly effective people, the little prince, the monk who sold his Ferrari.
While I blame higher studies and corporate world as a reason, the truth is I did find time to binge watch TV series… so many of them: Friends, 24, Seinfeld, Sex and the City etc. So there was time, just not for reading.
I did buy books that I intended to read, but some I did not even open, while others were abandoned mid-way. I even bought an e-reader – nook simple touch during December 2013 deals – it was a generation old at the time and had found it at a good price. I bought a few books in that device, and side-loaded some – but reading never caught traction. I probably just finished two books on it – Stumbling upon Happiness and Leadership and Self-Deception. Then it lay collecting dust in a corner (still there, functional)
Then came Neil, my son, in late spring of 2021; and when he was a little older, we made our first visit to the library on August 13, 2022. The idea was to give to him what my mother gave me all those years ago, the joy of reading.
Got my library cards made, had a good time with neil and brought back nine books…
Little did I know then, that it will rekindle my relationship with reading books. I delved deep into non-fiction, self-help and personal development books. My opinion is that for entertainment, I might as well stream TV shows and movies – reading should lead to development.
Library was a game changer, as abandoning books midway or skimming through them no longer felt wasteful. I started to skim through books, and then decide if I want to do a detailed read. Some that I liked a lot, I even made notes of the key points that appealed to me. I started to read whenever time permitted, and soon the reading habit started to edge out TV and movie streaming time. From the initial batch of nice books, five turned out to be good. I started using my newly acquired fountain pens and stationary to make lots of notes, and also scanned them for easy availability.
Meanwhile the library visits became a fun father-son activity, and its frequency became at least once a week, sometimes twice. The library at 8th Street (Pavonia Branch) had story time and fun activities like crayon coloring and toys for Neil, and with our frequency, every one knew us (or rather Neil) on a first name basis.
Then on October 1, 2022 – my first kindle paperwhite (7th generation) bought refurbished from woot.com because I wasn’t sure how much I would end up using it. Little did I know at the time, this would be a game changer. I set it up and downloaded all the amazon.com books in my account. It was a game changer BECAUSE – Jersey City Public Library allowed borrowing books on kindle. So you’d select a book from the library and it will get pusehd to your device for 14 days. It really removed the friction of going to the library to pick and return books. Plus the kindle was light and I could carry it everywhere.
Then, on November 18, 2022, we also became members of New York Public Library – which had a much bigger toddler play area, a wider selection of toys and it also increased the book selection for Neil and me.
By now, I knew kindle paperwhite was a good fit for me, so for a change I bought the latest generation – Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (11th generation). The kindle arrived on November 22, 2022, and was awesome – waterproof, multi-led with warm lighting option and much higher resolution compared to the 7th gen, complete with a leather case.
Now with membership of two libraries (JCPL and NYPL), I had the option of paper books, and kindle books from both libraries. I was able to borrow multiple titles, skim through them and decide which ones I would like to read in detail.
And so… I fell in love with books again, and since then I am glad to report, the love has only deepened. On an average I read at least an hour a day, and sometimes more. While an hour doesn’t seem like a lot, when done consistently, it has allowed me to complete over 100 books since I joined the library in August 2022, to now (April 2024) when I write this!