Happy Monday everyone! So I took my own advice of doing nothing and took the weekend off from writing to do exactly this... a lot bit of nothing! (Read here if you missed my "Do Nothing!" post). In that nothingness though, I found a bit of JOY, especially as I was committed to an event all about the Joy of books and what they bring and mean to our lives..
My family are a bunch of avid readers... where exactly it stems from is a story on its own. Whether it's from my great grandfather who was a very learned man who eventually wrote his own little books sharing wisdoms and insights of living a balanced, fulfilled and spiritually rich life, to his sons who shared his books of knowledge (and began a print shop from the back of their trading store) to my dad who was a voracious reader in his own right who's library and ability to walk into any bookstore and "spend as much as he wants with no limit!" was one of his greatest life's accomplishment.
Imagine my own joy then, to be part of an industry that helps people pen their thoughts, words and magic onto paper as we've entered the self-publishing sector a few years ago and to see how much it's been flourishing. The Joy of Books festival was one such event where local authors were given the platform and opportunity to share and publicise their books and help create awareness of this burgeoning industry.
The art of storytelling has been around from the early days of history. It's how our ancestors shared values and ways of life, it's how we documented and recorded history. Stories help us to learn and read of ways of remembering, understanding, coping and hoping for better tomorrows while connecting to those around us. With the printed medium, we now have the gift of books which take the art of storytelling to another level... Books engage us and take us to magical lands and mysteries or give us a little insight into someone else's world or life and challenges. We need books. We need stories. We need YOUR stories...
So what is that story inside you waiting to shine out into the world? If you could, what would you write about and share that could possibly change or help or inspire those around you, and even create a little bit of hope? As we wind down for the year, take some time and reflect... is it that recipe book you've always wanted to get started? Is it that little bit of family history or ancestry that you wanted to always document, or is it some magical fairytale that you've always wanted to pen, or possibly even just some challenge or hard time you've been through that could help someone else? Whatever it is, I dare you to do it. Get started. And if you get stuck, know that you've got help all around you! One thing, one moment, one day at a time... Happy writing!
Much love always, and for the JOY of Books, Poonam
5 December 2022
P.s. Here are some pics from the Joy of Book Festival where we printed and help publish many of the authors books 📚. Enjoy!
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