A love letter to reading

Books have always been an essential part of my life. Ask anyone about me and the first thing that would likely come to their mind is that Siddharth loves reading.  Ever since I could read, I would read.

I grew up in a family where reading has always been encouraged. I have seldom seen my parents (or even grandparents for that matter) without a book in hand. My parents enrolled me to the local municipal library by the time I was 6 years old.  If there’s one constant memory in my mind, it is of family trips to the library every Sunday morning. My mom and dad would each borrow a book from the adults section and I would take a book from the children section. Within a few years I had finished reading all the English books in the children section and by the time I was 14, I started borrowing books from the adult section.

There’s just something about a library or a book store that excites me. The smell of a new book, the touch and feel of different types of pages , it’s a wonderful feeling. I feel incomplete without a book near me, and to date, my Kindle is my most cherished possession.

Why do I love reading? Reading can improve your life in a lot of ways. 

There are so many benefits of reading. Here are some of my favorites:

It stimulates your mind. Most of us are aware about the benefits of physical exercises, we join gyms, take expensive protein shakes etc to improve our body.
Reading exercises our mind,  improves memory and analytical skills and best of all, you can do it while sitting comfortably at home. Reading has also been linked to slowing mental decline by keeping important parts of the brain working

It increases emotional intelligence and empathy: Fiction books are focused on the psychology of characters and their relationships, readers can learn from those interactions. It always helps to develop a new point of view. I believe reading can make us better people.

It helps you grow: We learn to think, we learn to question and also form our own beliefs rather than just accept the world as it is. You never stop learning. The more you read, the more you know and that’s always a good thing, isn’t it?

It reduces stress: Most of us live under some stress, whether it is work related or personal. A good book can make it all go away and take you to a different world altogether. There are various studies which show that reading is better and faster at stress busting than other methods like drinking or listening to music.

It keeps you entertained: Who doesn’t love a good story?

It’s like the old saying: ‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime’. 

I say: ‘Tell a man a story and he will be entertained for a day; teach him to read and he will be entertained for life’.

Reading gives us joy, it inspires us and helps us become better versions of ourselves. It is easily the best and the most beneficial hobby that I have. It has shaped who I am.

If you’ve read this entire post, I assume you can either relate or agree to whatever I have said. So, what are you waiting for? Go, pick up a new book or go back to reading a favorite. Books will always be there for you!

Image Courtesy: Designed by macrovector / Freepik