Li Yundi, pianist 

Reading is talking with the wise people.

Recommedation: Chopin: A New Biography by Adam Zamoyski

 

 

 

 

 

Yuan Tian, writer

In the world of Avatar the characters don’t read, they see. But blind as we are, reading is still indispensable for this planet.

Imagine; countless people have been here before, their bodies disintegrated, souls hanging around without a trace, and we are left with nothing tangible but particles of their minds compiled into volumes as fingers pointing the direction.

Whenever we encounter one of those worthy books, an old shared memory is awakened into life.

The world of books is similar to a gyre, with waste and light stuff floating on the outer circle. They have various subjects and are exciting, sentimental, noisy or dramatic. Keep probing inward though and a purer space will be revealed. Different powers are there, uplifting, converging into one. If the ultimate center of the gyre is ever reached, I guess there will be nothing but a universal silence, which gross words could never convey. Then and there, the mission of books is fulfilled, and we see.

Recommendation: Ami: Child of the Stars by Enrique Barrios

Related video: Thoughts on World Book Day

Special coverage: World Book Day 2014

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