Why Read? “Books are a uniquely portable magic”, quotes the incredible author, Stephen King. Books: timeless, handheld portholes, unconsumed by the modern day pressures of our ‘digital generation’ to have evolved into something of a multimedia device. As we read books, we unlock our mind’s eye, pages are turned with somnambulant fingertips, our attention is intent and we succumb ourselves to the simple wonders of our mental exploration of an unforeseen world within a story. We are no longer ourselves; we have slipped, involuntarily and helplessly into another’s skin, voice and soul. We have escaped the reality of our all too accustomed daily lives.
Whether it’s a stolen daytime hour or the means of a bedtime routine, one can experience the journey of perpetual motion that reading can offer within seconds of immersion. This is the true beauty of reading. There are no commercials to interrupt reading, nor are there viruses which can get into your book’s hard drive. The old fashioned simplicity of the book is much to be admired and completely incomparable to modern day gadgets.
Primarily, from a young age we are taught to read, it is the most basic and fundamental ability that we are so privileged to have access to. Throughout childhood, our young, curious minds indulge into adventurous story books with the aid of pictures to encourage fun learning and broaden our educational skills. This aspect of learning through reading continues infinitely until we read our last passage. It is scientifically proven that reading throughout life, with small increases in difficulty will consistently broaden vocabulary, assist spelling and improve our grammar tenfold. Whether you read pleasurably or with direction from school you are constantly stimulating your intellect, this is the reason we plausibly accelerate to harder levels of reading, we must always challenge our thinking. “A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading”, reveals novelist William Styron.
As children grow into young adults, they learn life skills without direct realisation. With complex topics such as; the death of a pet, you have acquired the skill of mourning and grieving, which will reoccur when family member pass as you grow older. You can also attain such a skill from reading a piece of literature, as a teenager you could read John Green’s ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ in which 17 year olds Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters fall ill with cancer. Naturally, you immerse yourself in the story and mourn as though you personally know the characters, from this you learn about sensitive subjects which have been carefully thought and written about. Learning about such emotionally difficult themes is invaluable and through reading you can do it with a relaxed manner.
On a personal level, reading is the easiest way to feel that I am understood. I become the character and set off on my expedition of living a life other than my own. Usually, we read books with whom the characters we can relate, we read so we are not alone, so the weight can be lifted from our shoulders, for that solemn hour every day, a writer seals your fate. “Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counsellors, and the most patient of teachers”, expresses author Charles William Eliot. To escape the afflictions of