[Essay] Nên đọc những loại sách nào - The kind of books we should read

[daigai]

The kind of books we should read. Give your opinion.


We should be careful in selecting our reading materials. It is a blessing if we have a reading habit because the advantages are many. If we choose the book correctly reading gives us a great pleasure.

Some books are meant for light, reading while others are for serious reading. However reading any books simply gives the reader pleasure and amusement. If we are tired of our school work, it is healthy to read a story book to relax our mind.

There are good books written by famous authors. There are many such books available in our libraries. The stories of well known authors teach us morals, which we need to learn to become good citizens. It does not matter what subject we choose – a novel or a biography. Reading good books makes us realize the virtues of mankind.

There are many good books on literature, history, travel, science and religion. Choose the best book which you think is valuable to you. In Singapore, children can borrow any books they like from the National Library and enjoy the pleasures of reading.

 

[daigai]

Re: [Essay] The kind of books we should read - Nên đọc những loại sách nào

Choice of books for reading

Today, there are many books to read. What do you think of the choice of books?



Nowadays in one language only, scores of new books are published in a month, and thousands in a year. Think of the number in all the languages in the world!

Thinking of books in English only, no one can hope to read them all. Even a man of leisure can read only a limited number of books in a year. And most readers are busy people, they can spare only a little time a day to reading. Try as we can, a large number of books must remain forever unread. So a choice of books must be made.

On what lines should the choice be made? Well, it is good to begin with classics. A “classic” of a book has stood the test of time, and has been placed by critics and readers of taste in the first class. A book that is the rage of the moment may be forgotten in a few years, it may be worth reading, or it may not. But a book that has been read for generations with pleasure and profit, has proved itself to be worth reading. So let the young reader begin with some of these. Let him read, in fiction, some of the novels of Scott, Dickens, Thackeray; in history, Macaulay, Gibbon, Green; in poetry, Milton, Wordsworth, Keats, Shelley, Tennyson, Browning; in general literature, Lamb’s Essays, De Quincey, Ruskin, Carlyle, Stevenson, and so on. These books will Giúp to form his taste for good literature.


For the rest, individual taste must determine the choice. Some will take to history and biography; some to travel and adventure; some to science and philosophy; others to general literature and poetry. Whatever the subject chosen, the best books, old and modern, should be sought out and read carefully. After all, it is not the number of books one reads that counts most. A few books read thoughtfully will be of more value to the reader than many skimmed through and forgotten.