MBU- Marvel'ous Books Universe

Books are a man’s best friend, who would disagree ? I enjoy reading a lot. My reading journey has been interesting so I decided to share it with others. I have divided my journey into phases and each phase has taught me something. Hope you like it ! This is a long one so Happy reading ;) .

To be honest ,I didn’t read any books until in 3rd grade (unless you count Clifford the big dog). I know people who started reading ever since they could read but not me. On the complete flip side I didn’t like to read at all. Reading was work for me ! Only books I ever touched were school books (that too not much). My world revolved around television and cartoons but (lyric alert!) “something happened one magical night”. In 3rd grade ,I was trying to fit into my new school so I had to keep up the trends there which at that time was reading Geronimo Stilton so I borrowed a book from a friend and started reading. That book took me 3 days ! I enjoyed it and my parents who were over the moon due to the fact that I read a book started ordering it for me from Amazon. The Geronimo Stilton and Thea Stilton obsession continued for 2 years and my parents had bought at least 50 books ! My dad being a dad said that he has spent Rs.10000 on Geronimo Stilton.I have donated most of my Geronimo Stilton collection to an orphanage and lent few of them to younger kids who want to get into reading. I still have a few left so if you know anyone who might be interested I would be happy to give it. So thus I started ,Famous Five and Secret Seven,a hit with us 4th graders, Ruskin Bond’s omnibuses and Room on the Roof which was  based on my native place ,Dehradun but my favourite were the mysteries solved by Nancy drew. For the first two years of my reading life I had fun adventures with Geronimo and I travelled the world with the Thea sisters. I travelled the beautiful mountain land of Uttarakhand with “Rusty”. I investigated with Nancy Drew, The Famous Five and Secret Seven. I might have stepped out of that world quite sometime back but it is still fresh in my mind. These books consisted of fictional adventures and the importance of friends and family in our life. Doesn’t matter if it is a mouse or a human, everyone needs to be surrounded with Ratastic people who drive you cheesy.

In 5th grade,When I was too grown for Geronimo Stilton , I started surfing for other options. My best friend (yeah she still is) suggested that I read Harry Potter which I had always turned away from. She somehow blackmailed me to borrow one book. As soon as I read it, I realised why it was the most famous series in the world. It is hard enough to understand our world but J.K Rowling has created another world which is so incredible,creative and “magical” a world we all dream to be in ! After finishing this series I came across Rick Riodan’s series Percy Jackson which was about a modern day  Greek demigod, you guessed it , Percy Jackson. I immediately after that read the Heroes of Olympus which is a continuation of the series but Roman mythology and Roman Demigods are added in it too. These Rick Riodan series got me into Greek and Roman mythologies. In this phase I was introduced to two completely new worlds, which was based on friendship and adventure as well as depicts heroes. Harry and Percy might be fictional but they were Normal teenagers who didn’t know about their abilities and power and were asked to save the world. They were brave and took up the challenge and saved the world. We might not have magical powers but we all have the ability to defeat evil in the world ! It doesn't have to be Voldemort ,Kronos or Gaia it could simply be the odds against you.

After reading about fictional heroes and their lives, I started looking for real ones.During the times when others continued to read fiction and fantasies I was introduced to the world of autobiographies by my father. Initially I didn’t enjoy it much and entertained myself by looking at the pictures in the middle. The first autobiography I read was Open by Andre Agassi who is regarded as a tennis legend. 

Autobiographies that Inspire Me !

I have mostly read the autobiographies of Sports Legends. I am going to talk about a few of my favourites.

Mary Kom’s ‘Unbreakable’ is a remarkable story of one of the best boxers ever not only in India but also the world has seen. She had written about her tough life and her journey to becoming ‘Unbreakable’. She went through 2 pregnancies only to come back stronger each time. 

Sania Mirza‘s Ace against the odds is an incredible story of hardwork and perseverance of a young girl . Sania mirza is one of the finest tennis players ever but she has had to fight the world too. From being trolled in her childhood for wearing skirts to being married to a Pakistani that to a Pakistani cricketer. Even though India is home to a lot of religions , cricket remains the most followed so people didn’t spare any harsh words. Even then she has always risen above all her controversies and come back to represent India no matter what !

Third is I am Malala by Malala Yousufsai. She was given the Nobel peace prize at the age of 16. We all call her the “girl who got shot by Taliban” or the girl who fights for Girl’s Education” but in her book she writes about her life before she was given the huge burden of being a Nobel laureate ( it is a burden, imagine how many people look up to you and see your every move that too from a young age of 16). She writes about her carefree days and when she started fighting for girls rights first undercover then openly. This book is truly one of the most inspiring and heartfelt books you will ever read.

These three women might be very different but they have their own struggles but their first struggle was making themselves seen in a male dominated world. In such an insenstive world, girls can’t box or Muslim girls don’t play tennis and a girl as young as 14 gets shot by Taliban. But in the end these girls are winning the Olympic Boxing bronze medal ,winning Wimbledon Tennis Tournament and are miraculously surviving from a gun headshot and becoming one of the biggest advocates for education.

Like Mary Kom said “I was the David who took on the Goliaths in the boxing ring- and I won, most of the time.”

They are the true superheroes and we all need to know more about them !