India, Oct. 24 -- The world lost a master storyteller in Jeffrey Archer a couple of days ago, whose unmatched talent is evident in the fact that his thrillers kept readers hooked for generations. I distinctly remember getting Jeffrey Archer novels from the school library and spending so many evenings and late nights reading them, lost in the multi-layered characterisations and the twists and turns of the plot, woven so skillfully by the great author.

The loss, sad as it is, made me reflect on another, hitherto overlooked aspect of our lives. We live in a world of diminishing attention spans and a disappearing love for the world of the written word. How often do we see someone lost in reading a book while waiting for a flight or travellin...