"I have always loved reading, it is like a movie running in your head. When you read fiction, you imagine the characters - their world, it is like you are the director," she said.
The actress, who made made her Bollywood debut with "Aashayein", has read biographies of celebrities like Charlie Chaplin and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"I love reading biographies, I have read (biographies of) Charlie Chaplin, Andre Agassi, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Slash and many more - famous people from different walks of life. We seem to think they are all blessed, that they have had a smooth sailing all their life. The fact is (that) all of them have hit extreme lows in their lives, which we haven't been privy to," Sonal said in a statement.
"The world only sees your high points, your achievements. But you only get there after fighting the hurdles life throws at you. And one thing that's consistent in the lives of all these successful people is that they never let their goal out of their sight," she added.
She says when she renovated her house recently, she turned a whole wall into one big book shelf.
"There are books right from the floor to the ceiling," said Sonal.