Reading is to mind what exercise is to body. The rise of television sometimes has been coupled with the dearth of books. But I don’t think books need to be rescued. A book is one of the greatest wonders of the world. It gives us a unique chance to link up with authors who lived hundreds and thousands years ago. Thanks to books we can talk to people who lived in different ages and countries. Through reading books we hear their voices, thoughts and feelings. The book is the surest way to bring nations together. It gives us an insight not only into the past, but also into the future. The book is a faithful and undemanding friend: it can be put aside and be taken again at any moment.
As for me, I’m fond of reading. I became very keen on literature early in life. Books stirred my imagination, expanded the boundaries of the familiar world and filled my life with great expectations of joy and happiness. Since childhood I have been enchanted by Pushkin and Gogol, Chekhov and Turgenev, by poetry of Yesenin and Pasternak. Later on I got acquainted with Dante’s “Divine Comedy” and Ancient Greek mythology and legends.
I think we can’t live without books. I consider, that books are with us during all our life. To my mind the house looks glum and joyless without books. I like to read books about the history of our country, about famous people and the life of my contemporaries abroad. Literature means much in my life. It helps to form the character and the world outlook, to understand life better. Books give information and knowledge, educate, give pleasure and sometimes they help people to forget about problems.
It’s common knowledge that reading foreign literature helps you to learn more about the life of people in other countries, their traditions and customs. A I study English, I try to read as many books by English writers as possible. The names of English writers and poets such as William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Bernard Show, Conan Doyle, Agatha Cristie, Oscar Wilde and many others are well-known to educated people from any country. My favourite English writer is Charles Dickens. This English classic is well-known all over the world. His books are translated into many languages and a lot of films have been made after his novels.
Dickens was born in 1812 in Portsmouth. He was the second of the eight children in the family. Although not poor by the standards of the time, the Dickens family lived through a series of financial crises. In 1823 facing a financial ruin, the family moved to London, where Charles began to work in a warehouse for six shillings a week. At that time his father was arrested for debt. Only at the age of twelve Charles was sent to school, where he did well, and at the age of fifteen he got a job in a legal firm. After learning shorthand, he became a reporter for the “Morning Chronicle” and soon wrote “Pickwick Papers”. In 1836, when “Pickwick Papers” were published, he became the most popular living novelist in England and held this position until he died. Then he published novel after novel- “Oliver Twist”, “Nickolas Nickleby”, “The Old Curiosity Shop”, “David Copperfield”, “Little Dorit” and many others. Besides constantly writing novels he was editing newspapers and magazines, giving readings from his books to huge crowds of people.
There was no other novelist in England who had such a hold on all classes of people already during his lifetime. His books were read by all- by learned and simple people, by the rich and the poor alike.
The popularity of his books hasn’t diminished with time. The great-heartedness of the author appeals to the contemporary reader as much as it did a century ago. His kindly, understanding eye looks with tolerance on good and bad alike. Dickens believes in kindness and generosity of people. It’s not just a happy end that his books have, it’s a philosophy which gives optimism and faith to the reader.
Also, I have an interest in American literature. I’ve read several books by American writers. The first American writer who came my way was Jack London whose stories struck me by unusual situations and the courage of his heroes. A also admire the humour of Mark Twain. I’ve read some of his stories and ,of course, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn”. But my favourite American writer is Ernest Hemingway. When I read his biography I was impressed by his personality. He was born in 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. His life was full of adventures and events that required courage, strong will and determination. He began his career as a brave war correspondent during World War I. The scope of his interests was incredibly wide.
His war experience and adventurous life provided the background for many of his short stories and novels. He achieved success with “ A Farewell to Arms”, the story of a love affair between an American lieutenant and an English nurse during World War I.
Hemingway actively supported the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War. In his articles he denounced the fascist regime of Franco. “The Fifth Column” is a play about the Civil War in Spain.
In 1940 Hemingway completed the novel “For Whom the Bell Tolls”. It’s a story about a young American teacher of Spanish who joins the Spanish partisans and gives his life for the cause of freedom.
In 1952 Hemingway finished his tale “The Old Man and the Sea”. This story about an old Cuban fisherman is a hymn to human courage and endurance. Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1954.
Hemingway is famous for his simple style, which has been widely imitated but never achieved by other writers. His heroes show courage in the face of danger, the feature which Hemingway admired grealty and which he himself possessed. Unwilling to live with the grave physical disease, Hemingway committed suicide, as his father had done before him under similar circumstances.
Belorusian writers: Our country is rich in remarkable authors. First of all I’d like to mention the names of our outstanding national writers Yanka Kupala and Yakub Kolas, the voices of Belarus. They created a new Belorusian literature and a Belorusian liteary language. Both are considered to be the classics of Belorusian literature. These names are followed by a number of other well-known writers and poets, such as K. Krapiva, K. Chorny, P. Brovka, A. Adamovich, M. Bogdanovich, I. Melezh, V. Korotkevich(“Old Legend”, “The Black Castle of Olshany”, “The Wild Hunt of King Stakh”, “Impossible to Forget”, “The Land Beneath White Wings”, “Kalasy Pad Siarpom Tvaim”), V. Bykov known both in our country and abroad.
Russian writers: A. Pushkin, I. Turgenev, F. Dostoevsky, L. Tolstoy, A. Chekov, M. Lermontov etc.