- It’s fun
- The book is nearly always better than the film or tv version
- Evokes empathy in you
- Improved vocabulary
- Cultural knowledge
- Travel the world through books
- Helps relaxation
- Helps with sleep
- Books are cool these days (check booktok!)
- Travel back in time
- Travel forward in time
- Learn new things
- There’s a genre for everyone
- There’s a format for everyone (reading has never been to accessible; audio, ebook, graphic novels, comics, manga etc)
- Escapism
- Gentle productivity
- Improves your writing ability
- Could make you better at your job
- Bookshelves with books on are pretty!
- Improve your spelling
- Exercise for your brain
- Books include research and facts more so than things you read online
- Embrace a slower living lifestyle for peace
- Use your imagination
- Connect with your inner child
- Explore hard topics
- Learn about social issues
- Helps you feel less alone (the characters can feel like friends when we’ll written)
- Something to talk to others about
- You can lend books to friends and family and make recommendations
- Inspires creativity
- Helps you to be a storyteller
- Helps you to understand yourself better
- Can be fundamental on your journey to self healing
- Make friends with people who like the same books as you
- It makes you feel smart
- It’s a quiet hobby
- You can read anywhere
- Entertain yourself while commuting or travelling
- Sharpen your mind
- It’s a cheap hobby (some are free or only 99p!)
- You can experience things you never would in real life
- You can quote things and sound really intelligent
- Live your life as a learner, an autodidact
- Explore different points of view on different topics
- Support your ideas with well-researched evidence from books
- Connect with people deeply by reading together, especially your children or younger family members
- Helps you to make decisions better
- Learn about what you like and don’t like
- Because I said so!
Now go read!
I’m only joking but I do wish more people were readers. You don’t need to read a lot or often. You don’t need to read a certain type of book. You don’t need to tell anyone about it. You don’t need to set goals and analyse and take it seriously like some do. But reading has so many benefits and I think it’s a beautiful way to engage with the world around us in a gentle and intellectual and empathic way.
Let me know what your favourite reads are in the comments.
Sincerely,
S. xx
S. R. Crawford 