I have loved to read for as long as I can remember and
especially love to read fiction. Even though I have lost count of the number of
books I’ve read over the years, I wanted to share a the books that stand out and I feel had a significant impact on my life in some way. I have selected one book from each decade of my life so far.
Let’s start with the first decade – years 1 to 10 years. I read
my first book on my own when I was about five. One Sunday afternoon – my
Dad came back from his golf game and bought two books for me. This was the first
time he had bought books specifically for me to read on my own (rather than being read to). One of these
books was called “The Sly Fox and the little red hen”. The story of the book (spoiler alert!) is
about a very careful hen who is being stalked by a cunning fox. The little red
hen is always careful and ensure she locks the door everyday when she goes and
out and when she comes back in. However, one day she forgets to lock the door
and the sly fox sneaks in to her house. He then captures her and puts her in a
sack. However, when he stops to rest, she outwits him by cutting her way out of the
sack and replacing her weight by putting
a large rock in the bag. When the fox reaches home, he drops the rock in a pot of hot water and is scalded. The story of
the book may add some sub conscious level affect the mind of the six year old
me however the main reason this book
will always be important to me because it was the first book I read on my own
and it kicked off a lifetime reading habit.
Over the next decade: 11 to 20 years, reading became an almost obsessive
part of my life and one that my parents did everything to encourage. I amassed
a huge book collection that I was and am very proud of, which I collated with the
precision of a librarian. However, ironically the book that had an impact on me
in this decade did not come from my own book collection but rather from Dad’s.
I was 16 years old and pick out a book called “The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand.
The book is is described as a story of a young architect who chooses to struggle in obscurity rather
than compromise his artistic and personal vision. It is essentially a book that
glorifies individualism and how it trumps collectivism. To my 16 year old self
who was struggling to decide what to do with her life, this book was very
inspiring and I remember I started to read this book and couldn’t stop reading
till I finished it at 4 in the morning. I also became fixated with Ayn Rand and
ended up reading almost all her works of fiction.
The third decade, age 21 to 30 years started with one my favourite
books to date: “The Alchemist” written by Paulo Coelho. I was 21, when one of my closest friends
recommended this book to me. This book was originally written in Portuguese and
has now become the most-translated book by any living author. It is described as a magical fable about following your dream – which
is exactly what it is. One of my favourite phrases from this book is “when you want something, all the universe
conspires in helping you to achieve it.” I would love to tell you more
about the book but rather not so that you can discover it for yourself. This is
a good book to read at any age but especially in your 20s – because for me it
was the decade where I took the greatest risks personally and professionally.
And now in my 30s, I have read some great authors and have become a fan of magical realism, which according to Wikipedia is "a fictional genre where magic elements are a natural part in an otherwise mundane, realistic environment". I have also started to listen to a lot of audio-books while walking to work and predomintantly read on my ipad. However, I am still waiting for “the” book.
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