Astrologer Ashutosh Clairvoyant, who specializes in vedic astrology, remedial astrology, and Kundali reading, feels today’s generation is more reliant on technology than conventional books. He feels books shouldn’t be replaced by anything because they help in reliving a story, a character, or an incident.   

Speaking on the occasion of National Book Lover’s Day, which is observed on August 9, he said, “Reading should never stop, no matter what. Be it a book, a magazine, or just a newspaper, The moment you stop reading is the exact moment you stop growing. Audiobooks can be an alternative, but they can't completely replace novels. Once you're habituated to tasting pure milk, you can't equate it with formula milk, right? Likewise, reading is about living a story and imagining things in your mind.”   

“Audiobooks may not provide the same experience, as it completely depends on the narrator's style. A great story may become boring based on the narrating style and voice, and vice versa. In my opinion, apart from people who prefer audiobooks over hardcopies, lazy people or those who can't buy books but still want to read them prefer audiobooks. They may use audiobooks just to pass time while traveling, working, or resting. Audiobooks can be a good alternative, like PDFs, but they can't replace a novel and its experience. I have worked for Amazon, and we developed Kindle Unlimited, but it can never replace traditional books,” he added.   He feels that these days people avoid the hassle of going through different books to find answers and instead resort to finding them on the internet. He said, “This hassle, on the other hand, could have been significant as it would have supplemented their knowledge. Technology has become so significant and tangible in almost every aspect of everyone's lives.”  “However, there are still a fair number of book lovers who vehemently pick up a book and seize the opportunity to get lost in its pages. They can relate to both the hackneyed and the exclusive aspects of their own lives, which is quite beautiful in every sense,” he added.   

He went on to suggest some books that every young adult should read, like The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, Divergent by Veronica Roth, Looking for Alaska by John Green, The Maze Runner by James Dashner, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, and The Art of Startup Fundraising by Alejandro Cremades.   Astrologer Ashutosh further feels that the joy of reading a book is beyond anything in the world, and people shouldn’t miss out on it.   “I can give you legitimate reasons for this. You will miss a lot—the smell of books, especially the hardbound ones, which are the best. The joy of reading a book at night and falling asleep over the open pages. Pressed flowers and leaves—okay, you can sleep with a Kindle, but how will you ever press flowers? Dog-eared pages—the paragraphs you re-read, handwritten notes on every book,” he said.   

“Passing on old books with tattered pages to your daughter or son and asking them who their favorite character is. Is it the Mad Hatter or Charlie? Having a library in your house. Always choose hardbound or paperback books over a Kindle. Always. I believe the younger generation has been exposed to the stimulus of electronic gadgets. They get instant gratification. It is like email or messenger rather than sending a written letter in the mail with a signature, which is very personal. It makes me sad,” he ended.