I was a very curious youngster who constantly bugged my mother to teach me how to read and write, long before I started going to school. I remember asking her to write my name and surname on a piece of paper for me to copy, which I could do for hours on end.
We always had a Huisgenoot magazine in our home, and I loved paging through it, looking at the pictures. Just before starting Grade 1, my curious nature got the better of me, and I started teaching myself how to read from the Bollie comics, which opened up a whole new world for me.
But, of course, that was not enough, as I realised there was a part of the reading world that was not accessible to me, because I could not read in English yet.
At the age of six, I begged my mom to become a library member, and I eagerly entered the world of books with my brand new library card in my hand. I will never forget the librarian’s surprised face, when she found me sitting between the shelves, with an English Asterix comic on my lap, loudly sounding out the words, teaching myself to read, and, since then, I have never stopped reading.
You may ask yourself why I am telling you all this. The answer is quite simple – we will be celebrating National Book Week from 2 to 8 September, and I want to remind everyone that reading is a pleasure, not a chore.
I would also like to challenge all our loyal readers to pick up that book, and start reading again. And, even though we all know the obvious benefits of reading, like increasing your vocabulary, bettering your writing and conversational skills and gaining more knowledge, that is not all reading does for you. A book can take you on a journey to places you would never be able to visit physically, it can make you laugh or cry, and there might just be that one book that could change your life for ever.
And with that I want to leave you with a quote from one of the characters in George RR Martin’s Game of Thrones books, who said, “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.”
I would love to hear from you, so share your life-changing book moment, your favourite book or even just a story about reading with me in the comments below, using #WeRead, #ReadBecause, #CaxtonCares and #BuyABook.
