Musings: This Book Will Save Your Life

It's not a secret that during my initial days on this earth, I wasn't very good at life. I struggled to fit in. I didn't get the other kids and I doubt they understood me. I have more recollections of enemy encounters than friendships from my school days. The one thing that did help me and I believe saved me, was reading. 

My sister was a bookworm. I followed in her footsteps. 

My obsession with fairy tales began from quite an early age. I knew the stories for Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, The Frog Prince and Rapunzel like the back of my hand. I watched the Disney movies dubbed in Hindi on the television (and got a little disappointed). 

Next on my list was the Enid Blyton. I have been on countless adventures with the Famous Five, the Five Find-Outers, the Secret Seven. I have dreamed of going to a boarding school like Malory Towers and St. Claire's. 

I grew up and turned my attention to what I thought should be next on my list. I read Pride and Prejudice, Little Women, and then Gone with the Wind. One thing I found later from my school's library was Anne of Green Gables. That become one of my favourite reads. I also found my mother's favourite book, Rebecca, in the library. (Which I best friend of the time checked out before I did... despite having no idea what the book was about or anything about the author.) My mother had been telling me about the novel since I was 13!!! Just goes to show be careful of who you pick to be your friend. 

Another two favourite of mine  Daddy-Long-Legs and The Room on the Roof. I will not rave about them because I already did a post on them being my comfort reads.

Harry Potter deserved a single post too. Because that series, I kid you not, saved my life. 

One author I discovered in college and fell hopelessly in love with, is John Green. I have read all of his books and I think he's brilliant. I don't know which book it was that contributed greatly in my life but I believe it was all of them! 

The other author who has saved this old soul from being wrecked is Neil Gaiman. He's par genius and I want to know where on earth does he get his story ideas from! I really do. And the quotes these two have in their stories - AMAZING!!! 

I fell out of my habit of reading after moving to Mumbai. But it's something I'm working on very hard to get back into again. Reading is the medicine that my tired, tired soul needs at the moment. 
There's another book that helped me a lot: The Perks of being a Wallflower. I loved the story so much that every time I'd buy a copy of the book, I'd invariably give it away to the people I love most. I finally asked my Secret Santa to get it for me in the hopes that I never let go off the book again. 

Every one has something that has changed their lives. It could be a song, a dance, a conversation, a story, a person, a book, a revelation - anything. I have come so close to giving up and so many times. Every single time the words written by an author who doesn't know me or the impact that words might have on someone, saved me.