Nothing reads better than a real book from a library
The written word is a rich source of creativity, teaching empathy and patience along the way
While wandering through the Magrudy’s bookstall at the 9th edition of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature I overheard a group of young teens having a lively discussion. Being a particularly curious person and quite a skilled eavesdropper, I picked up a copy of The Silk Roads: A New History of the World, skimmed through the pages and listened to one of the teenagers say: “How can anyone be bothered about reading books? How can you be bothered going all the way to the mall to get a book? My dad says books are a waste of time and he’s never read a book he’s ever liked.”
Father of said child was a few feet away talking to his wife while he scoffed down a shawarma. A stream of mayonnaise dripped out of the side of his mouth, on to his chin and all the way down his aqua blue Ralph Lauren shirt. He cursed when he saw the stain, wiped his chin and told the kids to hurry up.
I’ve come across a number of seemingly intelligent, level headed adults, who’ve had this skewed perception of books and reading. Although it’s tempting, my response has always been free of judgment and pity. Instead I tell them a simple truth: ‘You probably haven’t found the right book, yet.’
Reading is a matter of taste. I don’t think everyone should be reading all the time but everyone should try to read at least one book a year. Literature can be incredibly diverse and you’d be surprised how much of the world we know now has been predicted, explained and inspired by the great history of books and its stories. So, I find it hard to fathom that some people have never found one book, one story that truly spoke to them. It leads me to believe that some people were never given the opportunity to interact with books in a healthy manner.
This statement takes me back to the incident at the festival. What I found bizarre and sad was that any mention of a place where one was to buy a book was through the mall.
One of my fondest memories as a child in Dubai was being driven to Magrudy’s bookstore on Jumeirah Beach Road and left to meander through the shelves. We went almost every weekend. I preferred to walk down every isle myself and look at what book titles or book covers grabbed my attention. I never wanted to be told which books I should read. I wanted to find books on my own. Through this treasure hunt for stories, I discovered the worlds of Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl and C.S Lewis. I came across J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan in play form and even found a book about Shakespeare’s plays and tried for the longest time in the middle of the bookshop to make sense of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
When we moved to New Zealand, I was surprised by a few things. The great ice capped mountains, lush greenery, gigantic clouds that moved at a snail’s pace across the sky — all sites I’d never been exposed to in Dubai. But more astonishingly was the number of libraries around. There was one in every suburb. And among the big chain bookstores there were also an array of small independent bookshops and second hand bookstores.
After school my siblings and I would walk to the neighbourhood library and wait for our mother to pick us up after work. There I continued my habit of wandering through book isles, listening for voices of authors, who’d spent a significant portion of their lives doing the oddest but most natural thing in the world — narrate to anyone who was willing to read a story.
It was this fact that I found the most disappointing when I moved back to Dubai. Yes, we have one of the biggest bookstores in the world; yes, the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature and the Sharjah Book Fair bring together many lovers of the written word in one place, but where are the libraries?
Although my formal education happened at school, my social education in the playground, a great part of my emotional education evolved in the world of fiction
Where are the small bookstores? We have a handful but nowhere near enough.
This isn’t a Dubai problem. It’s a problem that the world faces. Given the new ways people are choosing to shop and the many distractions young people are bombarded with, it’s only natural that there is a rapid decline of libraries and bookstores. This is dangerous.
This ever-evolving digital revolution has made our lives more convenient, connected and entertaining in many ways. What it has failed to do is make space to teach the value of creativity, empathy and patience. These are all virtues that I have learnt directly from reading literature. Although my formal education happened at school, my social education in the playground, a great part of my emotional education evolved in the world of fiction.
Without having a room of books to allow people, especially young people, to explore stories and find that one book that could enrich their perception of life, we are cutting off a vital cultural bloodline that connects history and people.