Good morning, panel of judges, teachers and friends. Today, the title
of my speech is "The Value of Books". No, not just Harry Potter.
Deep in the heart of every good book lies the distilled wisdom of
centuries. To read it is to become wiser. (with tremendous magical
spells)
Books are written for the benefit and pleasure of all those who like
to read them. But they are of various types. There are books for
children, as well as for adults. Some books are written for the
specialist, some are written for students in the schools and
universities, and many are written just for the pleasures of the mind.
Indeed, the variety of books is infinite.
One of the reasons for the existence of such a wide variety of books
is that, the field of knowledge is very extensive. Even to grasp a
small part of it, one has to read several books for many years.
Another reason is that different people have different likes and
dislikes. The book that one likes to read the other may not like. To
meet these broad and varying needs of people for information,
knowledge, recreation and aesthetic enjoyment, more and more books are
being written every year.
Those who aim to specialise in a certain branch of knowledge
concentrate more on the books that provide information on their
particular field of study. In the libraries and book-shops they look
mainly for such books. But those who have no particular interest in
any subject, read and buy all types of books. Sometimes they buy books
intended for the specialist, sometimes, if they are preparing for some
examination, they buy books which give some information on their
examination, they buy books which give some information on their
examination subject.
Almost every book extends the knowledge of the reader and develops his
intellect as well. Even if the reader does not learn any new facts
from the book, he may at least learn a few new words, expressions or
ideas. In fact, certain books are written mainly to acquaint the
reader with the beauty of language and ideas. They do not deal with
facts or actual human experiences. Books of this type provide great
pleasure to the mind, and almost everyone, who loves reading buys a
few of such books.
Books have also helped to promote better understanding among the
peoples of the world. By reading books, the people of one country have
come to know about the achivements of those in other countries.
Thus, books could be regarded as one of the channels of communication
among men. Indeed, without books man would not have made so much
progress as he has made today. By applying the knowledge that he has
gained from books, to practical purposes, he has made the world a
pleasant place to live in. Civilization therefore, owes a great debt
to these inanimate things called books.
Now, with the internet so widely available. The usage of books will
start to drop. Though, one may not say it'll be the end of books, it's
almost it.
