To me, reading is a passion.
Which ever books comes my way..I revere them and drain myself into a strange new world that the book takes me to...
Books often take you back in time.. even centuries ago.. But with books..time does not matter...What matters is...is the journey...the Journey in the quest of revenge...justice...love...power...or plain Money!
You travel lengths and breaths of the continent...in ships, luxurious yatches, on camels,sometimes bare foot,through deserts, snow , rain... bearing the pain...rejoicing the triumphs... romancing the nature...flirting with danger..
Each Journey narrates a tale to you...of which knowingly or unknowlingly you become a part of...You tend to relate to a particular character...Anticipating the next moves...planning on behalf of the protagonists...sympathing and sometimes even empathysing...to the extent that you rejoice and savour the latest quest...wanting more of it...dreaming their dreams and living their passions.
The tales take you to places you have never seen, to Eras you havent been born in... yet through them you see a different world...through their eyes...understanding why cultures are different...what makes people in different regions look different..though the soul is the same...the languages and styles may be different..and still the emotions felt are alike.
It makes you realize which is the greatest power that binds a man, one that can force a battle or even end one... One without which the richest Man is Poor and with which the poorest becomes Rich..the power of Love... Loving and Being Loved... The magic of relationships...The purity of giving...the bliss in sharing.
Been through it all, the strange new world isnt strange at all, you had always known it, been a part of every bit of it, known it and lived through it.
And then suddenly, One shudder from Mom, and you are back laying on your bed... flipping through the pages of your latest possession and sometimes missing the splendid world you have just been the part of.
