An open book is a talking brain; closed, a friend waiting; forgotten, a forgiving soul; destroyed, a heart that cries...
benefits of reading
There is such a lot of emotions that a book can make you feel... the extreme beauty, the deep sorrow, the unceasing happiness or the devastation are some of the feelings a book can transmit, and you sense them with the meaning that happiness, sadness or devastation has for you. And the fact you imagine the characters in your mind only on the way you want them to be.
Reading increase, multiply, expand, grow, enrich and lift your vocabulary. And there are many other benefits of reading.
Reading books makes traveling without moving. It is like a film which you pause wherever you want, resume whenever you want and everything is exactly the same as how you left it. You just open the book and go again into the story, forgetting your environment and meeting with those characters that have been waiting for you to come back.
e-book versus book
The experience of reading a real book is unbeatable but kindle (or any other e-book) is the perfect choice if you want to carry the book with you to everywhere: it is light; the battery last a lot (two months if you read 30 minutes per day), you save space in your bookcase; it does not strain your eyes; you do not damage the book because of carrying it....
I am very happy with the purchase, although I keep saying that the feeling of touching the pages of a real book is superb.
If you are thinking of buying one, you can read here the advantages/disadvantages of an e-book.
recommendation
As we are talking about books and reading, I saw an interesting article about how to increment your reading speed. It seems we could read faster than we do if we stop vocalizing the words silently in our minds. They give also some other interesting tips. You can read the article here.
book's recommendation
There are so many books and so different topics... I am going to write below some titles from my collection covering a variety of topics but feel free to add more in the comments and share your experience.
Each time I meet with a friend in a cafe, I write in the napkin any book recommendation or film. Nowadays, I have a drawer full of napkins where I always go when I need a new idea.
12 Years a Slave. Solomon Northup.
It is a cruel true story about the racism and how black people were sold as a slave in the United Stated. The movie is also very good although, needless to say, books always beat movies as it is your imagination against what the film director wants you to make up. You can read the plot of this book here.
Memoirs of a Geisha. Arthur Golden.
It tells the story of a young girl who is sold by her family to an okiya, a geisha house. Her new family then sends her off to school to become a geisha. It is an interesting book to know about the life of a geisha and how they are trained in artistic and social skills to be an entertainer in the men meetings. You can read the plot of this book here.
Life of Pi. Yann Martel.
It is an unconventional and short book. I was surprised by the plot which is different from the rest of the books: it is not about love, neither about love nor thriller... I would not know in which genre I should include it, probably adventure mixed with drama.
The book is so different that it was rejected by five publishing houses before being published.
I strongly recommend it, although I was a bit disappointed with the film.
You can read the plot here.
The shadow of the wind. Carlos Ruiz Zafón.
It is one of my favorites. I read it long time ago, but I still recall it as my favorite.
It is a mix of genres: intrigue, suspense, love, history...
You can read the plot here.
The physician. Noah Gordon.
Great book and great movie. I really liked. There are some books that never should end... You can read the plot here.
This book is the first of a trilogy The Physician, Shaman, and Matters of Choice, although I only read the first one.
The time in between. María Dueñas.
It is a historical, adventurous, romantic and political conspiracy novel which has got many people hooked. As someone said in a review of the book: It is a novel from the past, from always, from hardly ever...
You can read the plot here.
The forgotten garden. Kate Morton.
The theme is mystery. You do not know anything until you finish the book. I liked it. It is a quiet book.
You can read the plot here.
Three meters above heaven. Federico Moccia
It is a love story between adolescents. It is very simple, but I liked and this novel is the reason why there are lockers in a lot of bridges around the world. It is nice to know when and why this craze started.
You can read the plot here.
It is followed by the sequel I want you, Sorry if I call love, and I want to marry you.
The kite runner. Khaled Hosseini.
It is a great story about friendship and betrayal, which tells part of the Afghanistan history.
It is highly recommended. You will go through different feelings: angry, pain, hope, sweetness, love, happiness, joy, anger...
You can read the plot here.
Although the choice of a book depends of your personal taste, here you can find the best books from 2014.
Make some time in your day for reading!