Reading as you've probably heard since you were 5 years old, completes a man. As much as i'd like to call this the most cliche saying since the beginning of time the truth behind it is unavoidable. The more you read, the more you learn and become aware. And the more knowledgeable unquestionably become complete i think. For me a really good book is just a thrilling adventure. A journey you take with the characters, uncovering plots and the plans, being thrown in the dark only to come across a huge revelation and so much more. The overall structure just sometimes leaves me in teary admiration for the writer. It's just THAT good sometimes. I want to share my own experience with reading in the hope that it inspires someone to read and lets also talk about the benefits of reading and why it's such a good practise.
I started reading around the age of 7 or 8 and curling up with a good book with guava was my definition of a good time until i was 16. That's not to say i was a nerd (i hope) but i really loved reading. Mind you i didn't have a smartphone till i was 17 and after that is when things went south. It's also partially the fault of Advanced level exams which are hyped to be the toughest exams ever. Free education is pretty competitive. Anyway I finished my Ordinary level exams and got an iPhone 7. The newest in the lineup at the time but that's pretty much all i knew about it. I still use it to this day. This new addition just took over my life and any thoughts i had to myself were replaced by mindless scrolls, stuffing down endless content and of course uploading cringe-worthy photos to social media. Everyone has that phase i think (Hopefully). Putting down my phone and picking up a book felt impossible and uninteresting. It didn't even make sense to do so at the time. Like why would i put down this gem that keeps feeding me anything i ask for, for a stack of pages i have to pick up and do so much work with. It was a harmful time. As a result of that i had not read a fiction book with any warriors, thieves, minotaurs or any interesting creatures or people for almost 3 years. But as you grow with tech devices you learn to control your exposure. I still find myself down the rabbit hole but not as much. I made an active effort to read a couple times but it never brought back that joy i felt when i was younger. Now i've finally got the habit to stick and i think having a good book recommendation was key. I started with The Da Vinci code by Dan Brown which is truly an amazing read. I felt that familiar warmth of getting wrapped in a book not wanting to set it down. I'm reading Angels and demons these days which is the second book in that series and the awareness i gained from it is interesting. It's all about an Illuminati operation against Vatican city and because Dan Browns historical facts are accurate (he claims so) the plethora of information you can gain from that single book is amazing. Knowing new things always feels gratifying.
The things i'm hoping to develop now are speed reading and my grasp on non fiction books. I haven't been very exposed to non fiction books and they didn't peak my interest until now. Now i think knowing books like "Show your work" by Austin Kleon and "The 4 hour work week" by Tim Ferris i might be missing out.
Once you start reading you really see what you've been missing out on. The practise applies directly to your life. You can become a better storyteller, a better speaker and a more balanced person altogether. Along with the valuable information books hold, i think it's a lifestyle. A daily reading practise will undoubtedly benefit anyone.
If you're like me and you're reading this do yourself a favour and pick up something you find thrilling and please give into that child like wonder and imagination of yours and let it soar.
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