The Art of Reading

Author: "" Magazine
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-03-01
Features: When a person comes into this world, the body they inhabit becomes a cage for their actions. They look around with wonder and alarm, perceiving the world and themselves bit by bit. If "reading" is not merely a narrow interpretation of reading books but also a broad interpretation of the surrounding world, then perhaps reading books is still more effective. Today, people are accustomed to obtaining information from the internet and television, but most of this is just information—unselected fragments of knowledge that flood you headlong. But when we pick up a book (of course, a book worth reading), we are immediately taken into a realm of thought and reflection. In this different world, we meet great souls, converse with them, and debate with them, feeling their shared joys and sorrows with ours. Therefore, a person who has developed the habit of reading is free and happy. So, the first step is to read the best books, so as not to miss the chance to finish them, and this book is a starting point. A person who has not developed the habit of reading is confined by the immediate world in terms of time and space. His life is mechanical and monotonous; he only interacts and talks with a few friends and acquaintances, and he only sees what happens around him. He cannot escape from this prison of his own body. But when he picks up a book, he immediately enters a different world. Not only that. Readers are often taken by books into a realm of thought and reflection. The things narrated in the books become a scene, and the reader becomes an observer with a detached eye. Therefore, the best reading material is the kind that can take us to this contemplative state. "Three days without reading make one's language tasteless and appearance repulsive." This means that reading gives one elegance and flavor, which is the entire purpose of reading, and only reading with this purpose can be called an art.