Reading is the simplest form of learning. There are no restrictions pertaining to it. All you have to do is grab a book, read the words, and discover the wonders of it. The only thing that will hinder your reading quest is your attention span. Many studies have proven that people have short attention span, even shorter than those of the goldfishes. There may be times that you will feel enthusiastic and excited to read while there will also be moments that you cannot even finish reading a page or open the book. Hence, reading can be both heaven and hell for you.
There are many benefits reading brings. It is not only limited to relaxing your mind but also includes learning, entertainment, and recreation. In fact, when you narrow the learning benefit down, you will realize how powerful this mere activity is. Thus, listed below are some of the benefits that you can get by reading books of different genre:
You can get to know the culture of other places
Culture refers to the traditions and beliefs of a place and its people. This is means that every place has different culture and tradition, it doesn’t necessarily pertain to a country for it can refer to towns too. Most of these beliefs have originated from the 15th century or longer than you can imagine. They were being passed down from generations after generations; hence, some of these traditions are still being practiced today while others have been altered or, worse, forgotten. But with books, every featured place’s culture is being preserved. The ability of books to showcase the rich culture of a place and to teach its readers about it grows stronger and more effective each passing day.
You can learn about some fragments of the history
History is a very complex and vast thing to delve in. It can be compared to a tree with many branches and leaves. You may have a difficult time in learning about it for all of its parts are important. It also has several dates and events that may overwhelm your memory. Thus, history is truly a subject that people must slowly dig so that they can appreciate the fruits of their labor genuinely. Books, on the other hand, are good means of learning about the significant events from the past that helped mold the world that you live in today. For example, the science fiction book by Len Stage called The Brotherhood of the Wone where the hybrid of Mayan, Aztec, and Toltec of the brotherhood was showcase. In other words, the mentioned sci-fi book featured the old civilizations of the world. Literature is indeed a good platform that helps you learn about history one step at a time.
You can gain more knowledge about significant societal issues
What books offer is more than stories or other things that you can imagine. As an instrument for learning and communication, a novel never fails to point out the ugly sides of the society and make readers realize the importance of being aware and taking action. There are many issues in the society, some of these problems are born from the past but haven’t been given proper solutions until now. Some of the issues that sprouted before but haven’t been cured are poverty, women oppression, gender discrimination, racism, domestic abuse, rape, and among others. Most of these problems are being overlooked or neglect but the more people disregard them the more they become rampant. Thus, the way literature teach people and raising awareness about these problems are more than enough compared to doing nothing at all.
You can extract valuable life lessons
Books are good life teachers. Since life is the most complex puzzle that every person encounters, books can be considered as life coaches. There are many things in this world that takes time to be understood and figured out. But with the wisdom and knowledge that books give, you can slowly untie the knots and comprehend what this particular things or events mean. There are many books in the literary realm and all of them offer wise advices. Although they have different genres — such as young adult fiction, adventure, fantasy, self-help, memoir, autobiography, and more, what matters is that you are learning about life and can start to put every piece of the puzzle together. No matter how slow or fast the progress is, the most important thing is that you never give up and you have collected substantial lessons about life. That is why reading books or reading in general is important because it doesn’t only entertain you, instead it helps you grow into the person that you want to be. Also, it makes you become wiser and stronger, making living easier and enjoyable.
Alex Writes 