In general, I'm fond of reading and to my mind books are a source of emotional inspiration and romantic feelings.
I think you'll agree that reading means much in our life. It is very useful because books enrich our experience with that of other people, help to continue our self-education and to discover what we are.
Reading is a rewarding pastime, as the time spent on a good book is never wasted. But some people think that a tempo of modern life is too fast to waste time on reading. They are sure that books have begun to lose their prestige and value. I agree that our century is the century of computers and progressive technologies, but it doesn't mean that one day books will be replaced by computers. Love and detective stories, science fiction and historical novels we read for pleasure and they create a special atmosphere. Books take us into the imaginary world of high human emotions and exciting relations. Owing to books we have the invisible contact with the writer who speaks with us from the passed centuries. I'm sure that computers are unable to replace all these things. In my opinion books are not only things which help us to wide our knowledge but they are as teachers help us in different situations and set examples. Books teach us what is right and what is wrong, to understand the world and people in; they mould our character and at the same time they tell us exciting stories.
Unlike most of young people, who read little, I have been doing regular reading since my childhood. Today youth isn't used to reading.
For me reading tends to be something you enjoy more and more as you get older, but if you don't develop a taste for it when you are young you may never discover the pleasure of getting involved in a good book. In my opinion, the main advantage books have over all other entertainments like computer games, videos or TV is that they are relatively inexpensive and portable. I mean you can take a book with you whenever you go, it doesn't break down if you get sand inside it, you don't need batteries and you can put it down and pick it up whenever you like - the only equipment you need is a bookmark.

I should say that we have a large collection of books at home, but I never miss the opportunity to borrow some new books from the library. My attention has always been attracted by shelves with English and American literature. Nearly three years ago when I came to out local library the librarian, a pleasant young lass, advised mo to borrow "Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell. Frankly speaking, the title of the book didn't arose my attention at first, though I decided to take this book. But when I finally read it, "Gone with the wind" became my favourite book and its author came into my life as my beloved one. I have been fascinated by this great American writer.
When I read her biography | was impressed by her personality. Margaret Mitchell was born on November 8, 1900 in Atlanta to a family with ancestry not unlike the O'Hara's in "Gone with the Wind". Her mother, Mary Isabelle Stephens was of Irish-Catholic ancestry. Her father, Eugene Muse Mitchell, an Atlanta attorney, descended from Scotch-Irish and French Huguenots. The family included many soldiers-members of the family had fought in the American Revolution, Irish uprisings and rebellions and the Civil War.
The imaginative child was fascinated with stories of the Civil War that she heard first from her parents and great aunts, who lived .it the family's Jonesboro rural home, and later from grizzled Confederate veterans who regaled the girl with battlefield stories.
Young Margaret attended private school, but was not an exceptional student. When, on one memorablе day, she announced to her mother that she could not understand mathematics and would not return to school, Mary Isabelle dragged her daughter to a rural road where plantation houses had fallen into ruin.
"It's happened before and it will happen again," mother sternly lectured the girl. "And when it does happen, everyone loses everything and everyone is equal. They all start again with nothing at all except the cunning of their brain and the strength of their hands."
Chastened, Margaret Mitchell returned to school, eventually entering Smith College in the fall of 1918. In January 1919, her mother died of a flu epidemic and Margaret left college to take charge of the Atlanta household of her father and her elder brother.
In 1925 Margaret Mitchell began writing the book that would make her world famous. Once she said: "If the novel has a theme it is that of survival. What makes some people able to come through catastrophes and others, apparently just as able strong and brave, go under? It happens in every upheaval. Some people survive, others don't. What qualities are in those who tight their way through triumphantly that are lacking in those who go under…? I only know that the survivors used to call that quality 'gumption'. So I wrote about the people who had gumption and the people who didn't."
"Gone with the Wind" was published in June 1936, and she was awarded the Pulitzer Price for her sweeping novel in May 1937. The novel was made into an equally famous motion picture starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable. The movie had its world premiere at the Loew's Grand Theater in Atlanta on December 15, 1939 with Margaret Mitchell and all of the stars in attendance.
On August 11, 1949 while crossing the crossroads, Margaret Mitchell was struck by a speeding taxi. She died five days later and is buried in Atlanta Oakland Cemetery with other members of her family.
Margaret Mitchell died but her book is still alive and it is still popular among readers. To my mind the novel "Gone with the Wind' is one of the best books I've ever read, which leaves lasting impression and unforgettable feelings. It holds your attention from the start and becomes exciting as it progresses.
"Gone with the Wind" is a sort of historical novels where the Civil War (1861-1865) between two hostile camps of South and North is depicted. The author of the novel blames the war and shows all its horrors and burdens, hunger and collapses, nonsense and inhumanity. One of the most interesting aspects of the story is the portrayal of the main hero Scarlet O'Hara, who is a beautiful, proud and spirited girl with practical mind. In youth she passionately falls in love with Ashley, but he prefers another girl and marries her. Scarlet's fanatical devotion to her first love prevents her from an opportunity to estimate at Rhett Butler's love. Rhett is a strong-willed, bold man who is quite similar to her in temperament and spirit. Finally Scarlet understands that all her life she has loved not real Ashley, but her own child's dream only when Rhett leaves and she remains alone. But Scarlet isn't defeated, she hopes for the next day. That's why not without reason the novel ends with the words: "But tomorrow will be another day."
As for me I have a really high opinion of this book, as I got the whole pleasure from it. This is the book which, once you have started, is impossible to put down. "Gone with the Wind' includes strong elements of realism, it portrays life very truthfully and it can make people laugh and cry. The characters are depicted so vividly that people immediately recognize themselves; it amuses the readers and arouses the feeling of admiration. From my point of view all these facts make the book unforgettable and peculiar. And I think if I met a person who hasn't read the novel, I would certainly recommend to read it; as "Gone with the Wind' is a real masterpiece of American literature.
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MY DAY OFF
What is the life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare
Sometimes it is very hard to find some free time even on our days off, because we are often busy with our work and we don't see all kinds of other activities. Besides we don't save our minutes, that's why we have no time to relax. Until recently staying busy relieved me of the need to make decisions about how I was spending my time. Business gave me a sense of control over my life. Frankly speaking my dilemma is deeper than shortage of time; it is the problem of priorities I want to spend time at work, but not for the lack of good rest. Physical rest is very important, but we also need spiritual relaxation - the peace and refreshment in our soul. It has been wisely noted that after spiritual rest we feel strengthened, dashing and patient. So, at present I try to maximize my time in such a way in order to have enough time for work but also have some spare time for entertainments. This is usually connected with my weekends or in other words days off.
I should say that this year was not an easy one in my life. Apart from everyday preparation for the lessons at lyceum, I had to do quite a number of additional studies in English, Belarusian and History because I started getting ready for the entrance examinations. During the school week I got so tired and exhausted that I anxiously looked forward to the weekend when I could relax and have a good rest. A day off for me was a nice possibility to escape from the daily lyceum routine. Every day off came like a reward and like all nice things it flashed by quickly.
To my mind every day off needs some special planning. Time passes quickly and if you have no plans you can be sure to get no results, as you may spend your time on trifles.
In general I'm for an active rest I like to go somewhere with my friends and to spend my free time in a good company. I hate staying at home at the weekend. While studying at lyceum, I tried to do all my homework right after the classes on Saturday, because I didn't want to remember about it during my weekend. Also I did something about the house like cleaning my room, placing books on the shelves which were piled up in different places and then I was free and could do everything I wished. I enjoyed my Saturday evenings most of all. I never knew about boredom even when I spent the evening on my own listening to music or reading an exciting book. I'm fond of reading. Books help me to continue my self-education, besides I'm sure that a reader lives much richer and interesting life than a non reader. I prefer reading psychological books. In my opinion, the time spent on such a book is never wasted, as these books help me to understand the world and people in it, teach me what is right and what is wrong and at the same time they mould my character.
But I should mention that usually I spent my Saturday evenings in another way. I met my friends and we went for a walk or to the disco. I'd like to say that a lot of clubs have been opened recently in our town. The entrance ticket isn't very expensive, wonderful music is played there and you can dance there and get acquainted with interesting people. I can't explain all the feelings I experience while dancing, but it gives me so much energy that I even don't feel my tiredness. I always returned home brisk and in a good mood. I should say that on Saturdays I tried to return home early, because I wanted to have a good sleep which was a well-deserved reward for the six days of hard work and early rising.
I'm in the habit of getting up late on Sundays. Especially when the weather was nasty, I afforded myself to relax and not to be in a hurry. I hate the cold that's why I usually tried to stay in bed as long as possible. So I could stay in it and not get up till 11 or even 12 o'clock in the morning. Only then I dressed and had my breakfast.
I could do everything I wished till 5 o'clock. Usually I watched TV, visited my friends or chatted with them on the phone. But sometimes if I had known that the next week was hard I could spend half of the day reading numerous pages in literature, writing essays or compositions.
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