Why reading books? blog #6

The knowledge how to print books was invented in the 1500´s by a German called Johannes Gutenberg. Before the invention of printing books, monastery monks had been written books by hand. Those books reached only a small amount of the population. Those who read books at that time were a privileged group of people. Not may had the knowledge of reading and among those people stories were told orally. The invention of printing books also led to that one book could be copied into several examples. As time went by, more and more books were printed and more people were taught how to read. I think it’s important to take time to read books, but why? Read my blog and see if you buy my arguments for reading books.

First of all, I think reading books gives you a lot of experiences, adventure and knowledge about things you mightn’t otherwise have got if you didn’t read. It broadens the mind. While reading books, you get the opportunity to visit places in the world, places that you mightn’t afford to visit in real life. Also, you get the opportunity to “be” with people you normally don’t spend time with.

In fact, my personal opinion is that there are few things that is so wonderful as to put my nose in a book which never has been opened before, knowing that I had a wonderful time in front of me with an unread book that would soon be read. I remember when I was a child and visited the bookstore in our community. The first thing I did, after having opened the door to the bookstore, was to take a deep breath because I wanted to feel the smell of new books in my whole body. It felt great to walk around in the bookstore, browsing among children and youth books and decide which book I would buy this time and which book I would buy at my next visit to the bookstore.

Some people think they don’t have the time to read books. They have other things to do in their spare time. For instance, they may have children who occupy their free time. Another reason could be that they have other interests which take time. I mean, on the contrary, that it’s important in our busy world to find moments to rest and let the thoughts of everyday trivialities fade for a moment.

Other people might think that books are too expensive to buy. I can agree on that but there are alternatives. You can buy pocket books. They are cheaper than a bound book. Buying books on sale is also an alternative but if you want to read books and think you can’t afford it, you can always go to the library. The first time my mother took me to the library I was so young so I couldn’t even pronounce the word in a proper manner. The following years to come I was a faithful borrower of books.

When I’ve got children of my own we visited the library a lot of times but in the beginning of the 80´s I became a member of book clubs and the visits to the library stopped. It’s sad though. I sometimes miss the library and I have recently decided to start visiting it again. My bookshelves are overflowing and I have come to the conclusion that I read the books only once and I don’t need to keep all the books that I’ve read. After I have read them they only stand on the bookshelf and collect dust.

Another reason why people don’t read books might be that they have difficulties in reading and writing. I really understand if you avoid reading books if you have dyslexia but there are other ways you can use in order to take you into the world of books. For example, you can listen to recorded books. In that case you need a CD player. If you have a computer you can download books. As you can see, there is always a way if you want to come into contact with the contents of books.

Finally, I wonder if you have bought my arguments for reading books. Maybe you already read books but if you don’t, have I convinced you? Why am I so eager on this issue? Well, that’s because I think that reading books have enriched my life in a positive way and I also wish that others´ lives gets the opportunity to become enriched.

Britt-Marie