To read or not to read? (18 photos)

18 May 2017

A book is one of your closest friends. In books we find answers to questions, books give food for thought, books educate the person in us, books offer the best intellectual relaxation and flight of imagination. So should I read it or not? This post describes the benefits of the book.

Since the invention of the printing press, the distribution of books has become faster every decade. Currently, the fashion for reading, fortunately, is gaining momentum, but it is very difficult to find people who read for pleasure, and not just because they have to. The Internet, television, and social networks have replaced books for many. But there are still people who read and do it with great pleasure. A person who does not read books is perceived by most young people as limited and not having a sufficient level of intelligence. No matter how rude it may sound, it is really worth thinking about the horizons of a person, which is limited to glossy magazines, image boards, news feeds on social networks - emphasize what is necessary. But I will not be ironic about those who neglect literature. A friend of mine (who doesn’t read, of course) once said the phrase: “What’s the point of reading, it doesn’t bring any benefit.” At that moment, I completely lost all words from indignation. After all, a person who loves books knows very well about the benefits of reading.

13 reasons why books make you a better person.

1. Advantage over the reader.

A person who reads always has an advantage over those who neglect reading. First of all, a well-read person is always one step higher than someone who can count the books he has read in his life on his fingers. And here we mean the attractiveness of the reading person to the opposite sex. When a person comes out of that age when a partner’s appearance meant literally everything, there is a desire to see in his partner not only a beautiful picture, but also an interesting interlocutor. What can you talk about with a person who doesn’t read?

2. When you read, your imagination works to its fullest.

Isn't this a reason for a creative person to read a lot? Only a book lover knows this feeling of disappointment while watching another film adaptation of another book. After all, while reading the filmed book, you imagined everything completely differently, brighter, richer, more beautiful. And then a significant part of the work was thrown out, the event was depicted differently from how it was described in the book, and the main character is generally strange.

3. You have something to keep yourself busy.

Imagine the situation: you just woke up, it’s wildly cold outside, so neither you nor your friends have any desire to leave the house. Your day turned out to be completely free, and you planned to spend it watching movies, TV series or a computer game. And then, because of an accident, the power at the station is turned off for the whole day. What to do? Horrible! But you have an excellent way out of the situation - a book. And for the whole day you are immersed in another world, watching your own movie in your imagination, which is much better than the films you wanted to watch. What would a person who doesn’t read books do in such a situation? As we read, we imagine the landscapes, people, and scenes that are described in the book. And when we are taken away from reading, everything breaks down. And we have to start over. When a person reads, he does not like to be disturbed. This means that you have time for yourself.

4. The book allows you to escape from your problems for a while.

And you won't need a large amount of alcohol or anything else to forget. Just pick up a good book and start reading it. After a couple of dozen pages, you won’t notice how you stop thinking about your problems. You will simply escape to another world for a while. And who knows, perhaps in this book you will find a solution to your problems.

5. Books give you a deeper view of the world.

As you read, you become calmer, make more informed decisions, and choose your social circle more carefully. And this is not due to the fact that after reading a dozen books you gained a lot of knowledge. It’s just that any book requires the reader to think about what is happening in it. And this habit of thinking about a work carries over to events in real life.

6. Reading brings variety to life.

If you don’t have the opportunity to go on a trip around the world right now, read a book about a country or about such a trip. When you and the main character return home from long wanderings, you will notice that your desire for a change of scenery has been slightly satisfied. Of course, books cannot replace a real trip, but an adventure novel will act on you like a vitamin against the blues.

7. You will make new acquaintances and friends.

Books bring people together. Every person who reads knows those moments when it turns out that someone you know also read the book you recently read, and it also changed his mind. There is nothing more pleasant than sharing your impressions of what you read and finding support in the words of your interlocutor. And, of course, in the age of the Internet, you can discuss books on forums or somewhere else and find new like-minded people.

8. You will have something to pass on to your children.

And here the books themselves fade into the background. The important thing is that you have enough information and knowledge to give your child practical and wise advice. A developed imagination will allow you to come up with your own fairy tales, and a parent who tells a fairy tale rather than reads it is much more admired by the child. Well, you can come up with a more interesting story.

9. It is easier for people who read to learn.

This pattern has been noticed for a long time - a person who reads books is easier to learn than one who neglects literature. It is not known what exactly gives such a result - more developed thinking or already acquired perseverance - but the fact remains a fact.

10. Beautiful speech.

A book lover will outshine a person who prefers to avoid reading. And there is absolutely no pleasure in communicating with someone who has a meager vocabulary. Who wants to wait until the interlocutor remembers the right word, replacing the gap in speech with a moo like: “Uh... well... that's... sort of... in short.” In conclusion of the article, I want to say that you should not go to extremes and replace all types of activities with reading. There are many worthwhile films, the Internet is full of useful information, and computer games can also develop some skills. So, keep a balance in your hobbies and develop yourself.

11. Readers tend to be more sophisticated and refined.

Reading allows people to delve into opinions and realities that differ from their own. This helps them refine their point of view. Reading also helps develop intelligence, wisdom, composure and patience. Also, do not forget that people who read with pleasure can, like no one else, fully enjoy such little things as good lighting, comfortable furniture, delicious tea or coffee.

12. People who read are more intelligent.

When you read a lot, you learn a lot. If a person reads fantasy where we are talking about elves and dragons, this does not mean that it is stupid reading. Books like these can be filled with life lessons. You can find a lot of people reading fantasy. And they have a better vocabulary than those who read various magazines or don’t read at all. They understand clues better and absorb new information better. They are also more pleasant to communicate with. And this is very important in a relationship. I do not want to say that a reading person is a universal soldier, ready for anything. But from such people you will be much less likely to hear the phrase “I don’t know.”

13. Books will teach you to be more patient.

Reading books takes quite a lot of time. And busy people take weeks to read a book to the end. Some people can devour a couple of hundred pages in just a few hours. In both cases, a lot of patience is required. And patience is a skill that takes years to hone. And people who read really hone it for a long time. These people will be patient enough to solve problems in relationships.

20 interesting sayings about the benefits of reading.

1. “When you read authors who write well, you get used to speaking well.” F. Voltaire

2. “Culture is not the number of books read, but the number of understood.” Fazil Iskander

3. "People who read books will always control those who watch TV." F.Zhanlis

4. “The more you read, the less you imitate.” Jules Renard

5. "People are divided into two categories: those who read books, and those who listen to those who read." Werber Bernard

6. “Just as rubles are made from kopecks, so knowledge is made from grains of what is read.” V. Dahl

7. “Reading is for the mind what exercise is for the body.” Joseph Addison

8. "There's only one thing worse than not touching a book for the last 90 days; it's not touching a book for the last 90 days and thinking nothing happened." Jim Rohn

9. “There are worse crimes than burning books. For example, not reading them.” Ray Bradbury

10. “To become smart, you only need to read 10 books, but to find them, you need to read thousands.”

11. “Books are ships of thought, traveling the waves of time and carefully carrying their precious cargo from generation to generation.” Francis Bacon

12. “Remember: who you are is determined by what you read.” Jim Rohn

13. “Trust books, they are the closest. They are silent when necessary, and speak, opening the world to you, when necessary.”

14. “A good book is like an iceberg, seven-eighths of which is hidden under water.” Ernest Hemingway

15. “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. A person who never reads experiences only one.” D. Martin

16. “When you read the smart words of others, your own smart thoughts come to mind.” M. Lashkov

17. “The paradox of reading: it takes us away from reality in order to fill reality with meaning.” D. Pennak

18. "The collection of books is the same as the university." Thomas Carlyle

19. “Everything pales before books.” Anton Chekhov

20. “You don’t need to read everything; you need to read what answers the questions that arise in your soul.” Lev Tolstoy

Useful tips for staying healthy while reading books:

1. You should not read lying down, as this is the path to poor vision.

2. The distance between your eyes and the book should be at least 30 centimeters.

3. Adjust the lighting! It should be on the left or top of the page.

4. You need to read for no more than 45 minutes, but if you pause for 15 minutes while closing your eyes, you will relieve your eye muscles. Be sure, when you feel that your eyes are overstrained, start exercises, for example, direct your gaze into the distance.

5. If you read on a computer, use special glasses that protect the cornea of your eyes.

6. Vitamins. You need to consume zeaxanthin, lutein, carotenoids and vitamin B2 daily. All these vitamins protect the retina and will help you prevent poor vision. Consult your physician before use.

7. Ophthalmologist. Even regular intake of vitamins, restriction of watching TV and computer use will not replace your doctor! It is necessary to visit an ophthalmologist at least once every year or two.

I want to read, but I don’t know where to start... If you were going to read some book, but don’t know which one, then you can choose from this list to start with:

451 degrees Fahrenheit. Ray Bradbury.

The events take place in the near future in Bradbury's homeland - the United States of America. The author shows a totalitarian system in which consumer thinking dominates, and mass culture has almost completely replaced books that make you think. Moreover, the government contributes to the destruction of literary works. The life of an ordinary person consists only of work and rest; there is simply no time for other types of activities. In this case, leisure time means watching TV or driving around the city in jet cars. Because of this way of life, people gradually become callous, seclude themselves, stop loving each other, do not have children... But there are a handful of “others” (dissidents) who have not accepted the rules of the game and are hiding from the authorities, continuing to remain themselves.

Time Machine. Herbert Wells.

A journey to a world of the distant future, inhabited by two types of creatures that man has become: the Morlocks, who live in the underground world and service machines, and the fragile Eloi, completely unsuited for work. Over the millennia, both of them practically lost their minds, turning into half-animals.

The first people on the moon. Herbert Wells.

The plot about two space explorers who discovered the civilization of “Selenites” on the Moon serves only as a frame for witty and somewhat prophetic reasoning about a totalitarian “anthill society”, where the life of a specific person means nothing before the power of the “general idea”, and those in power ready to mercilessly deal with anyone who encroaches on their idea of an “ideal” world order.