Books are an ultimate way to connect with someone without knowing them.

You are reading my favorite book? We might get along very well.

You are reading my favorite book? Good choice.

You are reading my favorite book? Let’s discuss so many related things and more.

You are reading my favorite book? Let me recommend you something.

You are reading my favorite book? Do you have any recommendations for me?

You are reading my favorite book? What a beautiful site. My favorite book being read.

You are reading my favorite book? Looks like I can trust you even though you’re a stranger.

You are reading my favorite book? No awkwardness when we start talking because we are already connected on a different level.

Quite a few times, me reading a book has forced people to talk to me that would otherwise be impossible in any way. Few years back I was reading “Thinking fast and slow” by Daniel Kahneman and a German girl on Shatabdi Express told me how she loved that book and why. Few years before that, a man from Venezuela became my friend instantly when I was reading “Emotional Intelligence” by Daniel Goleman, in a busy restaurant in Pune on a relaxed Sunday morning. And yesterday, just when I was reading “Sapiens” by Yuval Noah Harari, a Chinese table tennis player came to me and said “What an excellent book!”.

Somehow books scream something that we can’t hear while we are reading them, and somehow we listen to books in a way that’s not too evident, when we’re not reading them. Magical!