LIVING LIFE : A Book a Month

How often do you read anything – newspapers, novels, magazines? Is it true that if you want to hide something from black people, put it in a book? Maybe it is true, but it does not have to be. Reading is not just that boring poring over sentences of words or letters all day. It is much more than that. Human nature is such that we are shaped as individuals by our families or genes and our environment. In the 21st century where everybody strives to be a global citizen you do not have to necessarily go to America to understand American culture. Reading, apart from polishing your language skills be it in French, English or Kinya-rwanda opens one to a brand new world. You can be exposed to anywhere in the world through their books. They say one cannot know that their mother is not the best cook if they do not eat from someone else’s hand. So is culture. Through exposure to different cultures you begin to understand that if Chinese eat frogs and dogs it does not make them any less human and you should feel ridiculed when someone else thinks eating cassava leaves and monkey meat is any worse. Clifford Twizeyemungu, a Rwandan who lives in the UK thinks that literary awareness and constructive engagement is a positive step forward in the conscious awakening of the Rwandan public, in response to my last Sunday article, “A culture of Reading.” In Japan, where the reading culture is almost an obsession, on the electric train, most of the passengers both children and adults, no matter if they sit or stand, are reading books or newspapers. Many of them use their time to read. The wealth of books is all for everyone to indulge in at a personal level. As a challenge, all those who think their reading skills are unappealing let alone uninteresting should try reading a book a month. It can be a book about golf, an inspirational book or religious book, like the bible. For groups of enthusiastic group readers starting a book club that meets twice or once a week after work, could be a good idea. In these meets, you could discuss a specific book or a specific interesting paragraph and issues in the outstanding themes, writing style therein etc. you could invite authors and could even offer yourselves a members-only-library to share books. Again, it can be anything, a financial book, a physical exercise book, a cookery book – the list is endless. Show me a man and I will show you an interest, a career, or a hobby and in each of those lies a wealth of books to read. So there is no excuse not to read this month.Otherwise, I wish you an informative Sunday. kelviod@yahoo.com