I lost my phone when I was on holiday four months ago. With no phone to use on my way back to Milan, I decided to buy a book at the airport before boarding the plane. There was a discount on Stephen Hawking's Brief Answers to the Big Questions, and while not necessarily an easy read for the non-reader I was at the time, it touched on some of the subjects I'm most curious about, so I decided it was worth the f5. 99. I paid for it. To my great surprise, I read the whole thing on that two-hour return flight—and so my love for reading began. I was confused. Before then, I used to buy books hoping I'd read them. Months would go by but I wouldn't even open them. So I wondered. What was different this time? After carefully analysing the situation, I came up with an explanation.
Now I realise, most books on my reading list as a child came from one of three places: suggested books, school books, and "to read before you die" books. As a kid, I didn't have much experience when it came to books or reading. So when I decided to pick up a book, I thought these were the ones I should read and I believed I would surely enjoy them. Then I ended up thinking of myself as someone that simply didn't like reading.
It is obvious, in hindsight(在事后看来)，that I actually really enjoyed reading. The few times I got to skim through a book that felt right，I would devour(如饥似渴地 读) the whole thing in a matter of hours.
Many people approach reading the wrong way, so they ultimately end up disliking it the way I did. Keep on reading books you don't like, and you'll eventually convince yourself it is reading you don't like. So just make sure, you are reading books that touch on subjects you are actually curious about —don't be scared to create your unique bookshelf.
