This Diwali gift yourself a good habit

After a long time I am so excited about a novel.

The Martian, by Andy Weir (which has also been made into a super successful movie) is taking up all my spare time and more. So, while my son plays around, is busy drawing or jumping on things, I am busy poring over the exploits of Mark Whatney, struggling all alone with death & disco on Mars.

My friend Karan often admonishes me that nowadays I don’t read much, something that gave me so much happiness. Well, Karan, I am trying to buddy, not as prolifically as you do, but I am trudging along. Thank God for ebooks :).  

Reading for me, is somewhat, an out of body experience. It provides me with perspective & insights. It’s a way for me to organise / germinate new thoughts. And of course, vicarious life-in-life pleasure.

Take fiction books for instance, if you really like the book, you are transported to the world & (sometimes) become the character too, that is described in the book. I can shamelessly admit, that I have had my days when I was Sherlock Holmes, Doctor Who, Lando Sackett, Howard Roark for weeks on end and loving every moment of it. Just like right now, I am on Mars, and visualising a marooned astronaut’s life on the red planet.

Nonfiction, is even more interesting. You get to learn from great minds sharing their ideas/thoughts in detail with you from within the pages as if they are personally teaching you. How often, you come across a super intelligent chap with something worth sharing who is also willing to talk to mere mortal like me? Not very often, I must say. So Jared Diamond teaches me about his life-long findings, geniuses & insiders unravel the intricacies of the mind of Buffet & Munger (yet to read Munger one) and Damodaran expounds on what he does best, Valuation. All in the comfort of my place, my time and as many times as I like to revise. And I feel blessed.

Reading is one of the most important achievements of my life, it has made me what I am. But all this was just ramblings. All I wanted to say, was that I am dying to watch the movie. But first, I must finish the book.

So this Diwali, 1) gift yourself a book (and a habit of reading), and 2) invest in GOOD QUALITY stocks.

Happy Diwali.