Essay: Your favorite hobby

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Everybody has his or her own hobby. For me, my favorite hobby is reading books.

My father was not only a writer but a researcher as well. He had a great collection of books on many fields: literature, science, art, fiction and non-fiction. After his death, I inherited the most valuable treasure which has been preserved carefully up to now.

As I have a large collection of books of my own now, I usually spend hours reading and thinking about facts described in each kind of books. Sitting comfortably in an arm-chair in the library with a book open on my knee, I recall my father who was absorbed in his reading, perusing the poems of John Keats, William Words Worth, Chateaubriand and Lamartine. I still hear his sonorous voice reciting rhythmical lines of poems in Kim Van Kieu’s story while his face was radiant with ecstasy and raptures.

Through books I see many countries rise and fall. Kings and Presidents pass before my eyes and I can follow the history of nations. Each book has a story to tell me of remote countries and strange people.

I am greatly indebted to books indeed. For me a good book is not only a true companion but also a well-experienced teacher guiding me through my life. It has the miracle to relieve my suffering and my hardship and reveal to me strange and new horizons.

Reading books broadens my mind and improves my knowledge. Instead of indulging myself in futile entertainments, I am often keen on reading books which are always a source of comfort and relief to me and I am determined to preserve my father’s valuable treasure for my posterity.

In a few words, the reading of books contributes to the moral and intellectual formation of a man’s personality.”