An escape that will cost

From the Books lecture by Mr.Hardip Singh

Books are defined as the least "mass" of the mass media but has profound cultural impact on society and is among the oldest and most enduring of mass media. Ever wondered why?

Well for most of my part, I think books still survive due to the fact most fiction readers read for escapism. I started reading at a very young age because of depression. My primary school years weren't the most joyful times.. I was often isolated by others because I was "different" my teachers  were not at all helpful, instead they often practiced favouritism among the students. The clever, witty one were preferred and the quiet and not so intelligent ones were treated as "naughty".

So I begun reading to avoid the world. It wasn't very long before I found a particular genre that held my attention till today. FANTASY. It's name said it all. A place where one can run away to, a different time, a different world, a different dimension. I became addicted to reading fantasy books and lived through the characters. Imagining how they would react to situations and what they would say to other were my past day dreams.. Among my all time favourites are Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, Ranger's Apprentice, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Belgariad and it's sequel The Mallorean and etc.

                                                    

( This is the 1st of a 5-part series book )

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Belgariad

The fantasy books that made my top list ALL had a very common factor. The story would always begin with a protagonist  who is "nobody" and as the story unfolds he would turn out to be a "chosen one" who would save others. Its not a big surprise why I favour this genre now isn't it? These books gave me an alternate reality to live in where everything would always be on "my side" but the effects of its addiction were a big price to pay. I begun skipping school just to lock myself up in my room to read. From daybreak to wee hours of the night. I talked to nobody and zoned out from the world. 

It took awhile for me to kick that habit and revert back to reality around me. I realized then I was missing out of the really fun things in life. But those days will always be a part of me now..

Nevertheless there are irreplaceable things that I learnt from these books and the most important is  ANYBODY CAN BE SOMEBODY.

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