MY READING LIFE / STUDENTS' WORKS

A love for books opens the door to a colorful, happy life

Reading is fundamental

Editor's Note:

"Read ten thousand books, and your pen will be guided as if by the gods" is an ancient Chinese idiom that can be seen in students' textbooks. China's Ministry of Education has published an action plan to further promote reading among students across the nation. With new and diverse book recommendations, the reading scene is expected to be revived not only at schools, but also across society. To contribute to this endeavor, the Global Times launched "My Reading Life" essay contest for high-school students.

On April 23, World Reading Day, we began publishing the excellent essays contributed to us by our student readers across and beyond China. The essay contest continues. 

Please pick up a pen and share your stories with us at [email protected]

Photo:VCG

 Maxim Gorky said books are the ladder of progress for people. Absolutely no one can live without books. Luckily, I enjoy reading every day. 

The holidays allow me to read more. Over this winter holiday, I read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in Chinese. The author is Jules Gabriel Verne from France. This is a famous science fiction book. The author was very creative and the story was full of imagination. In the story, there was a working submarine called the Nautilus that was designed by Captain Nemo.

  I also read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in English. That was the second time I have read a Harry Potter story. I do really love the novel for its intricate plot. It was amazing. Now I'm a major Harry Potter fan. The fantastic fantasy novel was written by J.K. Rowling. She is as brave as the character Harry Potter, who she made and designed carefully. Her first book about Harry Potter was rejected 12 times by publishers! But she never gave up and eventually someone helped her publish the book.

Why not we read the newspaper? I often read newspapers, especially the Global Times. It's very helpful to me. I can learn about some domestic and international hot news. I am also interested in the LIFE column, from which I can easily learn something about food culture, archaeological studies, films, foreign art works and so on. 

To be honest, my favorite part of the Global Times is the section about sports. During the days of the Beijing Winter Olympics, I got the latest sports competition results from the paper every day. I cannot help but be drawn in by some reports about star athletes such as Wu Dajing, Su Yiming and Gu Ailing. In addition, I also learned many new words from the English news.

I will return to school soon so I will not have that much time to read during the weekdays. I will only be able to read one paragraph of a book and watch the news on the internet to learn some unfamiliar words so I can make gradual progress day by day. During my free time, I can learn more about my favorite authors, find other authors who are similar to my favorites, then read his or her books.

That's a little something about my reading life. 

Reading has become an indispensable part of my life. It has brought me a rich and colorful life. 

Some friends of mine like reading too. When we sit together and talk about the books we have been reading recently, we are all very happy. I hope everyone will love reading and everyone will be happy forever!

The author is a student at Beijing No.25 Middle School