Pleasures of Reading – 500 Words Essay
Man seeks pleasure. He loves and likes pleasure. Many of his activities are simply for pleasure. He can undertake any risk for it. For example, he enjoys sky-diving, surf-riding, rock-climbing, hunting beasts of prey etc. These activities are full of risks and dangers. Then there are various games, sports and hobbies. He can be called a pleasure-seeking being.
The pleasure got from reading is unique. Reading provides a matchless pleasure. It is full of many benefits. There are some hobbies which give pleasure but that may be harmful, costly or dangerous. But reading is a very healthy, useful and economical hobby. It gives pleasure which is desirable and preferable.
The range of reading material is very vast. You can choose history, philosophy, biography, poetry, drama, fiction, short stories, mythology or travel as your subject. The choice is so vide, rich and varied. You may also select jokes, comics and detective material. It is the best leisure time pursuit. The ability to read books, newspapers, and magazines and to derive pleasure from them is a great boon. Those who have this habit and hobby are fortunate.[the_ad id=”17141″]
Reading provides many additional benefits. It increases word-power, experience, knowledge and skills of expression. In the words of Francis Bacon, “Reading makes a full man; conference a ready man and writing an exact man.”
The hobby and habit of reading should be developed at the early age. It does not mean that it cannot be had at an advanced age. But it can be cultivated best in childhood. Reading requires special skills and aptitude. Books are the best friends. They are the treasure house of knowledge and wisdom. A lover of books is never lonely. He is never sad or idle. You can read at your convenience and ease. It does not require another’s company. It is not costly as well. You can have your collection of books. You can borrow books from friends and libraries. One can buy second-hand books at very cheap rates. The relief and relaxation got from reading are matchless. You can enjoy it while travelling or eating or taking tea. It is anywhere, anytime pleasure. Reading broadens our outlook. [the_ad id=”17142″]It enlightens us. The money spent on books is a sound The charm . and benefits of reading cannot be expressed in investment words.
Only good books should be read. One should choose one’s reading material carefully. There are many cheap, harmful, and substandard books. They can spoil a reader’s character and poison his mind. In selecting the books you can seek the help of elders, teachers, and librarians. Then there are book-reviews to obscene, guide and help you. Avoid cheap, sensational books and magazines.
Books which can inspire, guide, help and encourage should be read. By reading famous authors like Allama Iqbal, Shakespeare, Ishfaq Ahmad, Sir Syed, etc., a person comes in contact with great souls. Their ideas, experiences, and thoughts become our own. Then we feel enriched, cheerful and enlightened. We share their greatness and become their friends. The pleasures of reading can be recreated. It can be imparted to others. Reading of good books enables us more manly and humane.
Pleasures of Reading – 700 Words Essay
Outline
- Reading, an escape from the dullness of daily routine
- The enormous quantity and variety of reading material
- The cause of the pleasure
- Novels, Drama and poetry
- Reading widens our mind
[the_ad id=”17142″]Reading is a welcomed escape from the dullness of daily routine. It is an excellent recreation, which rich and poor alike can afford, as most books are not very costly. Moreover, in these days the large number of public libraries makes reading cheaper and easier than ever before. A man who has developed a taste for reading asks nothing more of life besides the means of physical well being, he is provided with books and the leisure to read them. Mathematics, scientific theories, doctrines of philosophy and religion are taxing to the brain, but the reading of newspapers, history, biography, accounts of travel and exploration, drama, verse and, above all, fiction, is a source of keen delight. Millions of men and women nowadays find a delight in reading.
The quantity and variety of reading material available to us are really enormous. There are books of all kinds – books discussing topical matters, books on love and marriage, books on health and hygiene and books on personalities of the times, as well as purely literary books including drama, poetry and prose fiction. The variety and number of magazines and periodicals are equally amazing. Story magazines, picture magazines, film-journals, literary periodicals, magazines on fashions in dress, political magazines – there is no end to them. Each of these types has its admiring readers who would rather miss meal than their favorite weekly or monthly.
Let us analyse the cause of the pleasure, which results from reading the printed matter that we buy from the bookstalls or borrow from the circulating libraries. We may begin with fiction since it makes the widest appeal to readers. The story so skillfully told lays a spell upon us. We unconsciously identify ourselves with each of the characters, especially the hero and the heroin; their experiences seem our own. What a keen and exquisite pleasure that gives. The novels of Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens, Alexander Dumas, Arnold Bennett, Jane Austen and George Eliot are an unfailing source of such pleasure. But if we have no time or patience for reading long novels, we can turn to the short stories of such writers as Maupassant, Bret Harte, Stevenson, Edgar Allan Poe and O’Henry.[the_ad id=”17150″]
Drama is another source of great pleasure. The plays of Shakespeare, Galsworthy, Shaw and Eugence O’ Neil has interested countless readers. The fun and humour of Shakespeare’s plays, the witty dialogue of Shaw’s works and the intense tragic note of O’Neil’s dramas are the secret of the appeal of these writers. Poetry can provide the richest satisfaction of all. It is purest form of literature and its rhythm, melody and music give it an additional charm. The lyric flights of Shelley, the sensuousness of Keats, the lavish and colorful imagery of Tennyson, the imaginative intensity of Coleridge, the beautiful natural descriptions of Wordsworth all these enchant the reader. The very diction of poets like Rossetti, Bridges and Arnold has a great appeal. Then there are the newspapers and periodicals. Every educated man in these days is hungry for news of the latest developments in the political sphere. A newspaper is, indeed, as an essential item of breakfast. Illustrated weeklies and pictorial magazines are an excellent pastime. Magazines contain romantic, adventurous, and detective stories that hold us spell-bound. Fashion and film magazines are light reading and have an almost universal appeal.
The great variety of reading matter makes it possible for men of all tastes and temperaments to draw pleasure from it. For the serious and reflective type of readers, there is plenty of tragic and sentimental literature. For one of lively temperament, there is a rich store of comedies, amusing episodes, witty dialogues, humorous skits, and tit-bits. For those more interested in actual life there are biographies, autobiographies, histories, and daily newspapers. Any educated person should not miss indeed the pleasure of reading; everyone ought to cultivate the reading habit. Reading lifts us out of our personal circumstances. We can forget our private worries and anxieties, fears and responsibilities while reading an interesting book. Whether we are journeying by train, or we are sitting in a park, or we are at home, reading is an excellent recreation.
