Ink And Reason

I learned to appreciate reading from my grandfather. I still remember him sitting in a large armchair next to his impressive library, browsing through albums or books whose source never seemed to dry up. I often joined him and then the stories began. My grandfather lived under three political regimes, each more imperfect than the other, and experienced all kinds of hardships. He probably felt the most strongly the one that limited the freedom of movement and expression. He took refuge and found what he could not personally experience in the books he bought and read diligently. From him I learned that “a book read is a life lived”. So I have lived thousands of lives so far. This year I managed to live over thirty so far. I accessed them from the subway, from the car, in line at Local Taxes, at the beach, office, visits, meetings where I had nothing to do, from the car and practically from anywhere I could open a book or my Kindle. A friend didn’t even know how right he was once when he caught me immersed in reading and told me I looked like I had fallen from another planet.

Over time I discovered that compulsive reading is pleasant, but it can’t always help you, because it pushes you to forget or neglect good books for months or even years. For this reason, for some time now I have set myself an annual reading list. I also conditioned myself not to insist on reading a book that I don’t feel to my liking just because I started it. Now I give up the ballast without any shame, I don’t reread books anymore, like in childhood and I always have at least two or three books that I open depending on the states I go through, or more bluntly said, by mood. For next year I intend to read considering also some left from this year’s list. I indicate them below, the list is not final. So I’m looking for suggestions. What are you reading?

Here are some of those I wish to read in 2024:

• Ten Days That Shook The World
• Killing Patton
• The Paris Architect
• The Rape Of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust Of WW2
• La Femme Au Miroir
• The Guest Cat
• All The Light We Cannot See
• The Secret Life Of Bees
• Why Nations Fail
• The Forty Rules Of Love
• Romanian Furrow: Touches The Very Soul Of Rural Romania

For more recommendations you can check my Goodreads profile. I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post and that it inspired you to pick up a book and live a new life. 🙂 Reading books can enrich your mind, expand your horizons, and make you happier. As Mark Twain said, “The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.” What do you plan to read in the next period and why?