We read books for knowledge, inspiration, motivation, what have you, but the best books are the ones that we never expected– the books we find while aimlessly wandering through a bookstore or thumbing through a book list on our iPhone, sometimes we come across wonderful, hidden marvels.
Ever since I was a child, I have been fascinated by books. Books allow us to travel to a different time and space, or picture a whole new reality for ourselves. Non-fiction books can have this magical effect as well.
Books help us improve ourselves, our quality of life, our wealth of knowledge, our personal health, our relationship with those around us, and so much more.
The possibilities of what we can learn in books is infinite, probably why I love them so much. I love the idea of continually learning and refining our knowledge and interpretation of the world around us.
Our conceptualization of a book now versus in ten years, will, undoubtedly, be quite different, considering our conceptualization can be based on our life experiences, our understanding and interaction with the world around us, and the relatedness of the topics within the books. Perhaps some magic can only be viewed from the heart of a child, so we will never grasp a story in the same way that a child does. However, therein lies the beauty of books and their stories– they provide their readers with so many surprises, in addition to the explicit information we attain. We might begin the book expecting it to go a certain way, only to finish the book, revealing something entirely different.
In today’s technological world, we can hold tens of hundreds of books in the palms of our hands, via a Kindle or Nook, or other similar device. While these devices are astonishing in what they accomplish, I will always enjoy the fresh touch a feel of holding an actual hard copy of a book between by hands. I love the exhilaration I get when I turn each page, when I see myself nearing the end, and the satisfaction of closing a book when I am finished. Nothing can replace that feeling for me.
Regardless of what format you read your books, I hope you gain the same excitement from reading as I do. My hope is that you find the books I suggest as valuable, informative, and intriguing, as I have. Some of these gems I have read more than once, because reading them just once was not enough. The best books I have read over and over again. I only hope you find them just as enticing.
– Ivi Kim, owner and author of Sip of Ambition
Sip of Ambition 