Why I read…

I’ve made a post before on why I read, but now I think its time for an update. I used to read a lot of romance novels. I still do now, however, recently I’ve been craving books that are more thought provoking and books on an animals perspective. Now, book like those are something I would probably enjoy more than a romance novel. Now, I mostly read to try to get a better understanding of the world. I like to see how I can look at the world differently and what I can do to help make it a better place.

I want to have more empathy for others. There are too many times in the day that I think my life couldn’t get any worse and I forget the things that others have to go through. Books help to remind me that I’m not the only person that has to struggle at times.

Reading in some ways has made me a smarter person. Studies especially have helped me with this. I think that too many of us consider reading to be part of the arts and nothing else. But that is simply not true, we need to read graphs, charts, mathematical equations, statistics. I thinking reading fiction is good, but I don’t think it helps us as much as it could. I do think that fiction helps us with imagination and inspiration, but that might not always be what the world needs. I will discuss this more in a literary vs genre fiction post. Obviously, a literally work isn’t a study, but I think the differences and similarities are important to understand in the writing world.

I think that reading has helped to challenge my own beliefs and without it I may not have ever changed them to begin with. However, this doesn’t mean that every book will, too many times, we want to read, listen or watch the things that will just affirm what we believe. Sometimes this can help defend our beliefs, if affirming then is the only thing we ever do, I doubt many us will change for the better.