Ernest Hemingway had said, “there is no friend as loyal as a book.” Till date, we think of it to be absolutely true.

Imagine entering a book store and being greeted by the woody smell of thousands of books neatly arranged in stacks, waiting for you to discover the world hidden within them. 

You browse through shelves with Beatles playing in the background as you slowly sift through detective thrillers. You take a peek at the classic section every once in a while through the corner of your eyes.

You keep on looking till you find that perfect book. The satin finish of the cover feels lovely to touch. The color hues play with your senses, and the probability of a good story manages to excite you.

If that sounds like something you want to experience, this guide will convince you why you should. After all, the importance of books cannot be understated. Read on to know more about it…

Vital Role of Language

Remember your childhood, when you first could hold a book and stare at the colorful pictures trying to make sense out of them? Even to date, you will not be able to think of a world without them. The gift of language is extremely crucial, as it is how we communicate.

A child gets the essence of language from trying to decipher pictures and words from books. They slowly widen their world of imagination as they proceed to perceive descriptions of scenes, moments, and adventures.

Why books are important?

Books play a part in enlightening us with values that no other medium can. We have listed down some of the critical reasons regarding the importance of books.

Widening horizons

It is through reading that we grow our power of imagination and boost our memory. Perceiving something through a visual medium is easy and does not require us to think much. The moment you have picked up a book and are reading through the pages, all you see are words, but your mind plays the terms through images. This gets a person thinking and improves his power of perception.

Also, when reading, you are not shown a picture, and thus how you imagine words is wholly left to you. One may picture a city street of California in bright sunlight, while another may dream of a road somewhere in UAE while reading the same description. This is how powerful words are in shaping one’s mind.

On the other hand, when you are watching something, a picture is already shown to you as part of trailers or videos, and the power of imagination is immediately limited.

Increasing vocabulary

Books are crucial when it comes to increasing vocabulary. Yes, we use words while talking, but these words are limited to the basic lexicon we have been taught. It is through books and reading about different topics that we learn a lot of new words and get introduced to new issues every day.

It is also essential to read to understand how to use different phrases in sentences. Throughout our childhood, we have had different books with varying levels of difficulties, and that is how we have improved our vocabulary over time.

Perceiving Commonalities

Reading helps us find commonalities with other people from different socio-economic backgrounds and cultures. When you read books and folktales from around the world, you are continually learning about how people have lived, behaved, and grown in various parts of it. This leads to a profound understanding of similarities and differences in cultural traits and practices.

Enhance critical analyzing powers

While reading, you cannot help but critically analyze facts. Information is not handed out to you on a plate; in fact, there is a place left for you to debate topics with yourself and be able to analyze effects better.

Reading involves a lot of concentration and helps you clear your head. You tend to stop believing in preconceived notions as your mind opens up to newer verticals and ways of reasoning.

Understanding genres

When one is reading across different genres and works of authors, he/she becomes accustomed to different people and situations that one may not encounter throughout their lives. For example, when you read through the works of Dan Brown on the one hand, and Stephen King on the other, you will learn to recognize different tones and specialties of each author.

There is a chance that you will relate to some authors and understand that ‘they’ are not very different from you even though the cultural backgrounds are miles apart.

Teaches about the past

Books are the gateway to the past. There was a time when visual media did not exist, and there were no telephones around. The only way to communicate over distances was by writing letters and by reading books from other cultures.

They say, when there was nothing else, there was a pen, and people wrote. Today, we will find antique books that have been reprinted and which tell tales from time immemorial. So books are the only way to understand what the history of a place was and how people functioned.

The style of writing is another indicator of the culture back in old times. What kind of terms were used and what the tone of the writing was in those times are some questions that get answered only by reading. You have to read to understand the struggles and triumphs of age-old heroes and warriors.

Why should you consider reading books?

If you are not an avid book reader, we have listed down points as to why you should pick up a book now! Make them your best friend, and you would be able to perceive the importance of books.

To improve oneself

Self-improvement is one big reason to start reading more. Be it positive values which you want to inculcate or gain a better understanding of your situation in relation to millions of others, books are vital. They will guide you to make better decisions in the future.

To increase general knowledge

If you are weak in general knowledge, reading more will automatically increase your geographic and public awareness. You get to know so much about the different countries, their streets, shops, markets just by reading a crime thriller based in that city.

Since stories are interesting, you will end up remembering the facts too. Also, when you read biographies and nonfiction books, you get a lot of information about leaders and presidents and their endeavors over time.

To reduce stress

Studies have actually found out that books are an efficient way to reduce stress. In today’s world and age, being stressed out is not a rarity. It is an issue every one of us is struggling with, and studies show that dedicating a few minutes to reading books in silence reduces heartbeat and pulse rates. It also eases tension in muscles, making you relaxed.

This is one excellent reason to open that book you have been trying to read for a while now!

To increase concentration power

Another common issue we all face today is the lack of concentration. We are unable to focus and concentrate for more extended periods. And in this world of people seeking instant satisfaction, dwindling attention span has become the outcome.

Books can genuinely help with it as any time you try reading a book, you need to focus and pay attention to words to build an image in your head. Start reading a few pages a day and slowly increase your pace over time. This will build up your attention span step by step.

To entertain yourself

Books not only provide knowledge, they can be fun too! Reading is a great pass time wherein you could lose yourself in a story, and the best part is that the characters are always left to your imagination. It will keep you fascinated while imparting life skills at the same time.

To improve memory

Reading brings with it a unique pause button, which helps you stop and ponder. While you pick up a book and read, you get more time to stop and understand things. There are times when one ends up reasoning and debating with oneself.

This also helps you retain the thought and keep it in your memory. Memory powers weaken when you stop using your head too much, or you stop pushing yourself to remember. Reading enhances mental capacities as well as keeps the learning curve growing.

Conclusion

Nothing can add to your intellect more than a book. It helps you explore newer horizons while sitting at a cozy coffee shop or snuggling with your blanket in bed.

Remember those times when you were young, and every night, a book would give you company? You ventured through fantasy worlds and had picnics with the Secret Seven and Famous Five. Let’s make it a point to do that again.

Whatever topic excites your soul, choose to get back to reading about it every day. Your mind palace is waiting to be filled with beautiful memoirs, so grab a book today!