Read Riding Hoods

Sigh. Remember the time when we all used to read? Nobody reads now.

Sigh. Remember the time when we all used to read? Nobody reads now.

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Come on! Just because books and newspapers aren’t the only mediums for reading anymore doesn't mean people aren't reading.

You mean reading on the internet and on devices like Kindle? That's not reading. Real reading is from books. Like the way we used to read Enid Blyton and Shakespeare.

Did you now? Well, Harry Potters aren't exactly doorstoppers used by parents.

Anyway, youngsters these days don't read book to be informed about the world. They are distracted by television and the internet.

But if you read Rabelais' Pantagruel and Rabelais on a computer screen, what's the harm? You are still reading Rabelais. In any case, you don't read only to gather information. You also read for pleasure.

Who's Rabelais?

The 16th century French writer, considered the father of the novel. His works translated in English are available on the internet on the Project Gutenberg website. Oh, I forgot. You only love Enid Blyton, Sherlock Holmes, and books by dead white Englishmen.

But how can you get pleasure without holding a book, smelling the page, gazing at the cover...?

By reading the text, perhaps? The actual writing? People today are actually less enamoured by the frills. In a way, it's a return to the actual writings. It's like enjoying songs without the music videos.

But that's not loving books?

No, it's loving reading.

Don't say: Is there a Wikipedia book available?

Do say: I heard Orhan Pamuk at the Jaipur Literature Festival. Wish I had stuck to reading his books.