1 . The story of a 92-year-old book lover in a village of Chongqing has touched many recently, Sun Shiquan has collected more than 7,000 books over the past years and has offered a free local library to people there for years.

He was born in Pipa Village in Xiuqi Town of Chongqing’s Chengkou County. Being a bookworm as a child, he read all kinds of ancient books including the Four Books and the Five Classics. In the 1950s, he became one of only a handful of local college graduates and later served as a middle school teacher in the county.

He started to collect books in 1983 and gradually built a collection of many kinds over more than 40 years. Among his holdings is a precious set known as the Si Ku Quan Shu, dating back to Qing Dynasty. It is one of the only seven copies in the country.

Wearing glasses, Sun reads for more than three hours every day. Now he has finished reading most of his collections. Speaking of her father, Sun Ziyu, said, “My father has a habit of making notes on each book. He makes a mark whenever he stops reading so that he can carry on reading from where he left off.”

Village official Liu Jiao said, “Many children in the village love to visit Sun and listen to his stories.” She said the elderly man has earned respect from the whole village. People call him “Teacher Sun” and children call him “great-grandfather”.

Sun Ziyu said her father also writes poems and prose(散文) in his spare time and enjoys reading his works to the family. She said under her father’s influence, family members take the time to read together and exchange views. “That’s their favorite part,” she said.

“My father has loved reading for a lifetime,” Sun Ziyu said. “Reading is his meat and drink.”

2 . Literature is not practical, especially the classic literary works. They are old, and simply relics of time. Certainly they will not help us find a better job or guide us to make more money in the future.     1     But why should we learn it?

Our ancient master Confucius said that a superior man should not be a practical utensil. We read not to make money but to be a better person.     2    

Literature is the record of human history. All human experience in history has been recorded in literature. The sweetest love, the most heartbroken betrayal, the cruelest war, the hardest struggle, the joyful laughter and the miserable cry, the most precious friendship and the most fierce hatred.     3     Reading it makes us a full man.

Literature can make us wise, since we may take good lessons from it. Reading a good book is like talking to a wise man, let alone the great joy that a book may bring to us in loneliness.

Even if you deny these two purposes, how many of you have cited about beautiful love poems in dating?

    4     When standing in front of the shelves of books in English literature, which are the most valuable ones we should digest? Firstly, we need to know who the most important writers are and what their important literary works are.     5     Finally, we need to learn to form our own literary taste, to know what a good literary work is like and what an ordinary one might be. We shall learn to appreciate the literariness of it, the beauty of the language, the wit in the structure, the inspiration of the story and etc.

6 . Finally, the holidays are upon us! What better way to spend the hot days ahead than curled up on the sofa with a cold drink?

Atomic Habits by James Clear

If you’re looking for some self-reflection time these holidays, then you absolutely need to read Atonic Habits. This book is one of the world’s best-selling works in self-help and is sure to awaken some new thoughts within you.

Let it Snow: Three Holiday Romances by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle

This novel consists of three stories about a massive snowstorm in a small North Carolina town, and all feature some aspect of romance. Reviewers have praised the novel’s strong characters and humorous hidden meanings. The stories are appealing and optimistic, and would make for a wonderful holiday read! You can also watch its movie edition to find out more!

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver revolves around the main character, Grace, who becomes convinced that a wolf is watching over her and protecting her each winter. She loves to watch the wolves, but she especially loves to watch a wolf with beautiful, yellow eyes, who watches back. When her wolf becomes a human named Sam, they instantly fall in love with each other. Are you hooked yet? The novel has been adapted for the screen.

A Year of Sundays by Belinda Jeffery

If you’re looking for a soft reminder to enjoy your slow days, this book, A Year of Sundays, is the perfect holiday pick-me-up. Join Belinda Jeffery as she shares the recipes and memories that made up her memorable year of Sundays. This is however more than just a cookbook! It is reflective, inspiring and a beautiful reminder to slow down.

Someone gave me a book for my     1     (nine) birthday because they knew how much I loved to read. I don’t remember what it was, nor do I even remember what it was about. The adult thought this kind of book was worthy     2     (read). But I never read it.

If I hadn’t had access to books that I     3     (want) to read, I would not be an author today. I would not be a reader. Now consider the restrictions that some well-meaning adults place     4     today’s kids in their quest to have them read “quality” novels,     5     primarily refer to canonical (经典的) literature. There’s a place for the classics, but there’s also a place for modern     6     (work) and fun.

When kids have access to libraries and the freedom to self-select books, they develop their identities as readers. It’s part of an education that advocates     7     (learn) how to think, not what to think. But still, some adults want to tell them     8     to read.

This is wrong. Kids need to find     9     (they) in books and to see representation in books that expands beyond their own lives. They need the freedom to choose whether they want to read books as windows, mirrors, roadmaps, or     10     (entertain).Without that freedom, they might not read at all.