A few weeks ago, due to a problem with my eyesight, I had to put the book I was reading at the time aside. Every day, the pain grew worse; it was a twofold and intense pain: caused by the health problem itself and by the inability to read.
This situation made me realise just how precious this sense is, one that allows us to enjoy reading printed books: moving forward at our own pace, going back a few lines to savour a passage again or to better understand what we’ve just read, or simply highlighting what is becoming most meaningful to us. I tried listening to some audiobooks, but nothing compares to the pleasure of holding a book in your own hands and turning each page with the satisfaction of knowing how much we’ve already read and how much more remains.
Fortunately, there are ailments that pass, even if they leave us a little battered, and which restore our desire to continue enjoying what we love most, such as reading for its own sake.
Lola Paredes
