World Book Day

Books. I love books — I suppose I’d have to, considering I’ve made it my business.

Reading has always been my escape from the troubles and challenges of the real world. Through books, I’ve travelled on countless adventures — with fiercely independent women in exotic locations, wandering through idyllic English countryside cottages, and more recently, soaring through mythical worlds with sword-wielding, dragon-flying heroes and heroines.

In these pages, I can forget the worries and stresses of everyday life and simply be. this could not be truer for me given current situation in the Middle East as a whole and in Doha for those of us here. 

Reading, comprehension, and critical thinking are some of the greatest gifts we can give our children. The ability to read — whether to escape for a while, or to better understand real-life situations and history — has never been more important. We live in a world where histories and narratives are constantly being rewritten and projected by those with the loudest voices and the deepest pockets.

Under normal circumstances, many of us parents would have spent the whole of last week stressing about finding costumes, searching for characters in “normal clothes,” or convincing our children to rewear something we already had at home.

But we can still celebrate World Book Day — without the frills and the noise.
Let’s sit with our children, read them a book of their choice, and then introduce them to something new that we think they might love.

From one bookworm to my amazing community — Happy World Book Day.

Love,
Gul xx