The benefits of book reading: An analysis

The common perception of a book

A book is usually regarded as a source of information, knowledge, entertainment and communication for the reader. Although it’s the tool of expression of the writer’s personal ideas and thoughts, it’s incredible how it may take different colors depending on each reader’s actual perception of those ideas and thoughts.

That is the sheer beauty of reading other people’s works, which is the essence of the progress in human communication, i.e. applying an alternative interpretation of the same thing and pushing human understanding and analysis to new and previously unknown frontiers.

Read a book when you feel lost

A book can provide valuable orientation in facing life problems and difficulties, and finding inspiration to address them under a different perspective. Just like the light coming from a beacon, reading a book can give you that much-needed glimpse of direction to the solution of a problem. A book can literally take you back to the right path and give you the sense of where you are in space and time.

The value of self-improvement books

Although a number of readers may have a negative opinion about what we call “self-improvement books”, these books can be highly effective in improving people’s lives by changing negative patterns of thought and building a winning mentality, when it comes to dealing with personal and business problems.

Personally, I have found great value in reading popular self-improvement books, such as the truly exemplary “Who moved my cheese”, by Dr. Spencer Johnson. This is a little story, a fable about two little humans and two mice that have to deal with change. The author describes the different attitudes towards accepting and managing change. This book has been really inspirational, like the light of a beacon, in helping me think in a different way around my problems and get me going ahead, when I feel stuck and everything seems to be a dead end.

A major benefit enjoyed by being an avid reader of books

Another benefit that readers can gain by avidly reading books is that this habit of continuous learning leads to a better and deeper understanding of themselves, people around them, and the world in general.

How does this happen? Simply, by having access to fresh ideas and perspectives, or even old ones revisited, which are presented in books, and which can help readers to develop a sharp, analytical, and critical mind.

As a result, any misunderstanding in their communication with other people can be easily resolved, reversed, and finally serve as the basis of improved human relations.

That is another criterion in determining what can be defined as evergreen content in books; it's this quality and value that readers find in those classical books again and again, and which helps them in dealing with their personal and interpersonal problems that wins the test of time for those books.

Books make me feel rich

Wealth is a subjective concept and most people would measure it by taking into account personal belongings, money, capital, and any other type of property owned by a person.

However, regardless of my financial situation, whenever I visit a library or a bookshop, where I am surrounded by literally thousands books, I feel that I am the richest person in the world!

Yes, knowledge is fulfilling, and it is more powerful than the possession or ownership of material goods.

Receiving and analyzing information and producing new knowledge is primarily a mental process, even if manual handling is involved. This, in its own right, is enough to prove that it is better to know than have, as the former is a mental activity that stays with us even when the body is unable to enjoy material pleasures that result from the ownership of material goods.

Conclusion

You should not underestimate the value of reading books, as a powerful weapon in finding your direction within an increasingly complicated modern world. After all, reading books can be more effective than you think, as it can help you take a break and escape from your hectic pace of life, in order to organize your thoughts and recover your orientation.

All this just by reading a book!

Further reading:

8 science-backed reasons to read a (real) book

Books and the brain: The social and emotional benefits of reading

Benefits of reading physical books according to adults in the United States as of November 2018

10 Benefits of Reading Books: Why You Should Read Every Day