Although the computer is becoming the medium of both communication and entertainment in the modern era, there is something to be said about the value of reading great books, specifically the classics. Not only have these books withstood the test of time, but also the critiques of countless readers over the years.[1] To read such a piece of writing is to enter an ongoing conversation about the human experience with some of the greatest minds that ever lived. Whether that is through serious novels or lighthearted stories, reading great books embodies[2] the art of questioning by presenting audiences with insights into what it means to be human.

I espouse so much about the virtue of reading great books that it seems ironic that not so long ago,[3] I did not even know what it even meant. To my 14-year old impressionable self, a great book was one that exhaled a fragrance full of imagination and adventure as I cracked it open.[4] It would plunge me into worlds of dragons and magic that would allow me to escape the real world and all of its crushing truths for just a few precious hours.[5] Most of these books were pop fiction, written all in the last five years or so. I avoided the classics like the plague: those books were boring, not to mention enormous.[6] It was not until I chanced upon a copy of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, which I found abandoned in a classroom desk, did I decide on a whim to give classic books a try.[7]

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[1]. withstand: 經受，承受；critique: 批評。

[2]. embody: 體現。

[3]. espouse: 支持，贊成；virtue: 優點。

[4]. 14歲的我正值敏感的時期，對于我來說，一本好書就是當我打開它時，它會散發出充滿想象力和奇遇的馨香。impressionable: 敏感的，易受影響的；exhale: 發散；crack: 打開。

[5]. plunge sb. into: 使某人陷入；crushing: 毀滅性的。

[6]. 我曾經像躲避瘟疫一樣排斥這些經典文學作品：這些書不僅乏味，還都是大部頭。plague: 瘟疫，災禍。

[7]. Brave New World: 小說《美麗新世界》，英國作家阿道司·赫胥黎所著，是二十世紀最經典的反烏托邦文學之一。這部作品主要刻畫了機械文明下的未來社會中，人的“人”性被機械剝奪殆盡，接受種種安于現狀的教育，熱愛機械化的工作與生活方式；abandoned: 被遺棄的；on a whim: 一時興起。