I have been reading books nearly all my life. I was a bookworm through and through when I was a kid, buying and devouring books in between multiple visits to the public library every week, carting back home those precious three books that would see me through a day or two.
The e-book has not so far proved to be a replacement for the traditional book, but an add-on…- Ġorġ Mallia
As I grew older, my time for reading diminished but not my hunger for it. It had been a friend for too long for me to ever let go of it. It had seen me through hardships, bullying (lots of it), bouts of sadness... there was nothing so bad that a good book would not help appease. I even remember the corner of my room I used to curl up in, living the absurd adventures on a treasure island with George, Annie, Dick and Julian (not to mention Timmy the dog) as if I were with them, terrified of the mishaps, glorying in the successes, lost in simple prose that dimmed the reality in my own world and let me live in those worlds of wonder created by others.
Whenever World Book Day rolls around on April 23 every year, I realise just how integral a part of our lives since we were young books have been. They were an intrinsic part of our childhood, possibly in both good and bad ways. Bad as in having had to read them because the teacher said so – the often counter-productive forcing of reading by parents and educators that results in so many keeping well away from books they do not have to read. Good as in the wonderful days I’ve described above, lost in the worlds created by children’s writers, wrapped round in wonders and life that was not as we knew it.
Books are sentimental entities, which might explain why they are still very much alive in their traditional, printed format. E-books, that are also books and should be respected as such, have not managed to eradicate the paper book. The e-book has not so far proved to be a replacement for the traditional book but an add-on – possibly getting people who have not been avid readers to read more and helping bookworms get a higher dosage of their daily fix. The traditional book is unique in its tactility and its form. No electronic paper can replace the rough feel of the yellowing pages of an old paperback, nor can it replace its utility and warmth.
When World Book Day was first celebrated so many years ago in Spain, I suppose there were very few alternatives to the book. But the fact that it is still being celebrated, almost two decades later, is a clear indication that the book is still respected. It has changed millions of lives. For many centuries it was the repository of all the wisdom of humanity and the library became the sanctum of knowledge – the sacred space for the scholar to thrive and the reader to imbibe of life outside life. It is little wonder that book burning became the sign of the tyrant despot who wanted to control minds. The freedom to read with no ban has become another indicator of democracy. The book is linked in this way directly to the autonomy of thought.
World Book Day is a reminder that there is still a lot to be had from books and I sincerely hope that any of those reading this who might have strayed away from the beauty that can be afforded by reading will pick up a book and relive times when our reality dimmed for a while and the world of words transported us to magic places lived through stimulated imagination.
Dr Mallia is the chairman of the National Book Council.