Visakhapatnam: Young readers get closer to books

Visakhapatnam: At a time when virtual classes, online modules, webinars and work from home culture are gaining prominence, many turn to books as they find them therapeutic.

For avid readers, books happen to be a great companion to get away from the pandemic-induced negative vibes and a source of inspiration to escape from boredom. More so when there is a bit of extra time and the year's planner is free of social engagements.

The large pile of unread books on the shelf for months finally draws attention. However, those who make time to read every single day, the lockdown and the pandemic situation only brought them closer to books.

Science fiction interests T Surya Siddhardha. A class VII student of Siva Sivani Public School, he is fond of Enid Blyton series, seven novels of JK Rowling's Harry Potter, Ruskin Bond's books and Roald Dahl's stories. "Reading books has a calming effect on me and it improved my vocabulary to a large extent," says the avid reader, who completes reading a book in a few hours.

Nine-year-old Mihika Chintala is glad to take home a set of new books to read. "I enjoy reading fairy tales and spend a part of my day with books. My little sister Myra looks forward to listening to the stories that I read out for her," beams Mihika, who read close to 130 books in the past seven months.

Anything magical, mythological and fictional grabs the attention of Siddharth Vadapalli who never gets tired of reading. His list of genres is quite a long one. "As parents, we made a conscious effort to introduce our kids Siddharth and Vikhyath to books. While the younger one is only four-year-old and is yet to read by himself, Siddharth enjoys every moment of reading. Books expose him to a new world and help him expand his horizons like no other medium can," explains Diwakar Vadapalli, father of the two sons and a research consultant.

Virtual classes have certainly paved the way for more time to read. As the appetite for reading sees a steady rise among the younger kids, those operating libraries devise ways to introduce kids to newer genres. "Younger readers can earn a reading badge if they finish a certain set of series. The idea is to reward the younger section of readers, nudging them to step beyond their comfort zone and getting them exposed to diverse genres," reasons Hari Madala of BookMagic Library.

Amid a host of virtual classes, books offer a great deal of companionship as many revive the habit of reading, while few others get closer to them even further.