The Pavement Bookworm - Philani Dladla

Philani Dladla is an amazing young man.  A homeless man and a drug addict once, he turned his life by offering book reviews instead of begging. In his twenties, Philani Dladla from South Africa is truly an inspiration not only for young South Africans but just about every youth in any part of the world. His is a real story of how we can overcome adversity and turn out life around for better. The interesting thing is that he overcome all his difficulties using the simple tool called books. Alongwith an insatiable desire for knowledge he had the faith in the power of books and reading.

He is a real crusader and a champion as he has not only changed his life but has also devoted it to help the underprivileged and at-risk youths. He also operates a Book Club which is not only about books but like a support group for members. He runs the book club from his own savings and from donations he gets.  

He has also authored a book titled “ The Pavement Bookworm” available on Amazon at http://amzn.to/2s8fg0A   

Such an inspiration. His story is definitely a true testimony to the positive influence of books and reading in our lives as is also mentioned by him during an interview (read below the excerpt captured from his website). 

Read more about him at http://www.pavementbookworm.co.za/about/   

Hats off to this real champion !

The Book Rescuer

Sharing about a crusader of reading, a real champion whose name is Jose Alberto Gutierrez from Colombia. Jose, a dustbin man and only a primary school literate has been collecting books which people throw away. He collects them all and offers it to other people as a free community library. 

Read the full article here  www.bbc.com/news/education-40173423    

Hats off to him !  

Why Read Books ?

Philosophically speaking (as some may call it), Books are a real treasure house of knowledge and ideas.   Books are an excellent companion and always act as the fall back whenever the need arises for that. I have grown up on diet of good books and they always acted as my guide and my savior too whenever I needed one to get back on my feet. There’s a learning (at least one) hidden in every book and all we need to do to find that is to open our minds when we read. Some books are like magic which leave us awestruck in disbelief and some are like a mystery which unravels itself as we read it. Books have a mesmerizing effect and real book lover is always living in trance and always creating a masterpiece in their lives and in the lives of others. In my opinion, the best gift that we can give to anyone is the power to read. 

Every book is like a new adventure and the only thing you need to backpack is the “power of reading”.

Beyond the philosophical realms, there is also a strong scientific evidence about the power of books and reading and the benefits that they bring to us. Here are few of those interesting articles that highlight the benefits that accrue from reading books.

• Books and Reading positively impact our brain and body. It also protects us from Alzheimer’s disease and leaves us more smarter by body and brain. Read the full article here http://www.rd.com/health/wellness/benefits-of-reading/ 

• Reading books is an anti-ageing activity. A study conducted reveals that those who read for a minimum of 30 minutes a day live longer than those who don’t read at all. There can’t any better medicine for living long that reading J. Read the full article here https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/aug/08/book-up-for-a-longer-life-readers-die-later-study-finds

• Another medical study re-iterating that reading increases our life span by upto 2 years. Read the full article here http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/312167.php

Whether we live longer or not, cultivating the habit of reading will help us live life to the full J !

Mission of this Blog

This blog is all about celebrating the goodness of books and the pleasure of reading. Every moment there’s something nice and new happening in the world of books and reading – a new bestseller being written by someone, many crusaders contributing to make books and reading accessible to more, lives getting transformed as a result of books and a new generation of readers getting added. This blog is an attempt to capture these moments and share about them. I will share stories of change, book reviews, summaries, suggestions and many more interesting facts and news from the wonderful world of books and reading. I am quite excited about writing this blog and can’t wait to get started. Hope you enjoy the posts! 

The mission of this blog is to encourage everyone to "Read More" and hope we can achieve it together !