we explore reading habits as national book week comes to a close when it comes to reading we always say catchem young perhaps thats exactly the reason why this years edition of the national book week was kickstarted on childrens day this week sees the 29th national book week no this event is not just for the bookworms it is an event to help cultivate reading habits amongst youngsters according to priya a homemaker and a mother of two who is trying to instill reading habits in her kids reading transports someone to a different place while being rooted to the same spot it is a window to a different world a different century or a different universe it could easily be called the best thing that ever happened to mankind and maybe to acknowledge this the book trust of india organizes a week full of workshops activity fair etc talking of youth it would be interesting to find out what they like to read and if their reading habits are changing with global digitalization how do they like to read do they use an ebook reader read it on their computers or they prefer that smell of paper sukanya a college student claims i love the feel of a book turning each page and the smell of a brand new book but i am not averse to the idea of ebooks they are more practical in todays world since they are easier to transport ebook readers are a more practical option as its all about ease and comfort today they are lighter than a paperback and one reader can easily store more than 1000 books another option is to read a book on a laptop or a computer but with them portability can be an issue when asked about the kind of books she likes reading sukanya quips that it was impossible to answer because of the voracious reader that she is and says i am reading two fiction and two nonfiction books at the time contrary to sukanya annete a secondyear student prefers an ebook reader due to its portability but laments that one cannot cuddle it like a book when asked if she still goes to a library she says i dont subscribe to a library other than the one at college i prefer to buy my own books and keep them with me rather than borrowing and returning what is it that appeals to youngsters when it comes to reading according to a professor of a renowned city college the youth have a good knowledge of language and literature today another trend which is seen amongst youngsters is reading graphic novels vishnu says that he reads whatever he gets from tolkien to devdutt pattanaik to jk rowling to harper lee to malcolm gladwell to freud the list is endless so the youth today doesnt just idle away time online but reads a variety of books and isnt scared to try out different authors