Reading is Funadmental

As I travel to work on my daily commute, I have my nose in a book. Unlike most people who are on a device, I read a paperback or hard cover book. It is more relaxing than staring at a screen again, which I do at work and then again at home at the end of the day. The 3 hours of commuting I have in the day is my true me time. I had this man ask me why do I read a physical book when I could just have a kindle and read the books then.

My reasoning is simple. I need a break. I am on the computer for 6-7 hours a day at the office working away, then when I get home, I throw on the TV for a couple of hours as well. Give or take, that is about 9-10 hours of screen time a day. It is a lot and straining on the eyes and my eyes are crappy as can be, so it is quite tiresome on them.

There is something about holding a book in one’s hands that has a different feel than opening a phone. It is the call to unlock a story, to dive into the words of the author. Opening a book just has a different feeling compared to unlocking a phone. The pages hold the story and the escape in them. It can be seen almost as an escape from reality, to dive into the words of the author and be drawn into the story that they lie before us. In the book there is the satisfying turning of the pages, the sight that closer and closer you are nearing the end. Whereas in the electronic readers, it is just a number at the bottom of the page.

Not only does it give my eyes a break from all the strain of looking at a screen as well as helping avoid added exposure to blue light. What it also does, is gives my brain a break in general. I do not have to focus on anything but the words on the page. The blue light is the biggest thing, as it effects your brain, making you feel drowsier but at the same time making it tough to fall asleep. Not that I know all the scientific knowledge behind it, I just am repeating what articles say but I can say I notice the difference.

The other reason I read is that it helps me in my daily life with how I write, I have a larger vocabulary from it and a better understanding of grammar compared to someone who does little reading. It helps me retain more information than if I was to watch a bunch of TV shows, because each book is different compared to TV, where one only venture into programs that a relatively similar because that’s what you like. One book on one topic is different from another book on the same topic simply because it is a different author with a different set of words and a different story to write.

Reading in this day and age has really become a lost art. People have lost touch with what a book can do for them, and how reading can impact they’re lives. Not everything needs to be learned through computers and digital media. Sometimes getting back to the basics is a positive thing. Reading is not something that we will ever stop needing to know, no matter what the medium is, there will always be words to read, instructions to follow, posts to comment on, it isn’t just a dying art. Reading is truly fundamental.