Losing and Finding: 5 Myth-Busting Things About Books That Change Lives and Careers (Part 6 of 6)

(A Notes to Self Series)

“The key thing about a book is that you lose yourself in the author’s world.”
– Jeff Bezos

On Tuesday, I posted the first instalment of this six-part quote series about books. I talked about J.K. Rowling’s words and how she may not be too keen about her book’s magic to be really happening in reality but she believes that good books could pave the way for magical results.

On Wednesday, Elon Musk’s three-word statement should have struck our chord.

We got another glimpse of Oprah Winfrey’s thoughts on Thursday.

Mark Zuckerberg had something to say on Friday, too.

Yesterday, Bill Gates enlightened us more.

Now, even as Rowling, Musk, Winfrey, Zuckerberg, and Gates may have more than a billion dollars worth of reasons to state their words, some may still be inclined to say otherwise.

Why should we spend time reading when there are lots of paperwork to do, business functions to attend, working meetings to sort out, and all other things that we should prioritise? Right?

No.

Read further to know why.

Myth # 5: There are more important things we have to do than reading others’ thoughts.

The Truth: Reading books and learning from others are two of the most important things in life, too.

Why? It’s because “The key thing about a book is that you lose yourself in the author’s world.”

I should say that, even if the sentence sounds literary and poetic, it should be the most obvious answer. And, do you know what Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, says about books? Ask the richest man in the world why because the above quote is his own words. Anyone who has ever read a book in our day and age should know that his online bookselling business is just phenomenal. He might be fleeting in another’s world of thoughts, but he has made things happen.

Was he able to do something fantastic? For me, it seems like he obviously did (with both pun and irony intended) and even more. However, his sort of enchantment isn’t the one that Potter fans would know about potions, but more on coming up with formulas of success that Amazon executives are even expected to know. If you’re interested, here is an article that talks about the books that made it through Jeff’s Reading List.

Well, if getting lost means replicating or perhaps merely approximating his success in a way if not in myriad other ways, then why wouldn’t we be curious about what goes on his mind? Right?

Now, we’ve got it! That’s magic. With books, we could indeed get lost but we’d have a great find.

For more about books, check out the OnlineBookClub.org website. As one among more than a million volunteer and professional members of the club, I could say that being part of it is a great thing. Check out my book reviews on the site through the following link. For more of my other reviews and written works, you may want to look at my personal website, i.e. “Words of Hope and Optimism,” too.

Special mention also goes to Rob White, whose book “And Then I Met Margaret” inspired me to find out details that could bust common myths and chance upon life’s truths even in the most unlikely places and from unexpected people.

Now, what do you think about books and reading? I’m looking forward to knowing your thoughts.

This post was first published as a portion of a LinkedIn article.