Five Awesome Facts That Make Reading Important

Reading, they say, is an important food for the brain (and the soul). As such, each one of us should find time to read. Likewise, we should encourage others to read. Some people, however, find reading quite boring. There are those who say they do not have the patience to read stories that are over a hundred pages long. The next time you meet someone like this, tell them about these awesome facts that validate the importance of reading.

1. Reading allows you to explore new things.

Whatever it is you are reading – a book, a magazine, an ebook, or a poetry collection – the minute you open its pages, you start to discover a lot of new things. You’ll discover new worlds, interesting people, brilliant ideas, and creative solutions. You’ll find a lot of inspiration in the stories you read. In addition, you can travel to different worlds through the books and poems that you read. If you’re reading a story about a family struggling to make ends meet in their small Western home, you’ll travel to where they are. If you’re reading about a couple getting married in Ireland, you’ll be transported to where the wedding is taking place. In a way, reading is travelling through different worlds.

2. Reading helps you improve as a person.

The stories you read and somehow become a part of will help you understand better what is happening around you. Reading will help you gain a better understanding of certain issues and events, and even about some people. At times, you identify with the characters in the story, so you empathize with them. You feel whatever they feel when something happens to them. This allows you to grow as a person. You learn to deal with different situations and emotions, and you learn to become more confident. As you will also meet people from various backgrounds and beliefs, doing a self-examination and try to compare yourself with the characters you meet in the stories you read. This will encourage you to improve yourself as a person. It may not happen right away, but in many instances, it really happens.

3. Reading is a great experience teacher.

Reading, as previously mentioned, introduces you to new worlds and different people. This exposes you to various experiences – the happy, scary, puzzling, mind blowing, and breathtaking ones. Reading, therefore, is a great experience teacher. You don’t have to be there to experience something; you only have to read it to feel and believe it. For example, the book you are reading is about John F. Kennedy’s assassination. While reading the part where JFK was shot, you’ll feel like you were there, at the scene of the crime. You experience it without actually being there. Even when you are worlds and years away. That is the magic that you get from reading.

4. Reading teaches the importance of communication.

If you are a reader, you have a good understanding of the importance of communication. Reading, after all, is a form of communication. Authors and poets communicate with their readers and share their thoughts, ideas, and experiences through the stories and poems they create. Likewise, as you read, you communicate with the authors and poets. You connect with them because you now know their deepest thoughts and feelings. Most of all, you communicate with the world when you read. Everything that you discover through reading connects you with the world beyond the pages of the book you are holding.

5. Reading helps improve your imagination and creativity.

Reading encourages you and challenges your imagination and creativity. Every time you read a story or a poem, or even an essay, you try to visualize or imagine what the writer is trying to describe. For example, one of the characters is drinking an ice cold orange juice. Even if you were not thirsty when you started reading, you will be now. And you will imagine how that ice cold orange juice will feel as it goes down your throat. Your imagination is tested and your creativity is stretched to its limits.

These are just five of the many reasons why you should read, and why you should encourage your family members, especially the children, to start reading. To make sure that you enjoy your reading experience, choose books or stories that you can relate with, or those that you find interesting or are familiar with. Don’t force yourself to read a book just because you see a lot of people reading, or because it is on the bestsellers’ list.