“You don't need books, but what was once in them, which could still be on the programs of our living rooms. The same attention to detail, the same sensitivity and consciousness could be cultivated by our radio and television programs, but, alas, they do not. No, no, books won’t give you everything you want right away. Look for it yourself wherever you can - in old gramophone records, in old films, in old friends. Look for it in the nature around you, in yourself. Books are just one of the containers where we store what we are afraid to forget. There is no mystery, no magic in them. The magic is only in what they say, in the way they sew the shreds of the universe into a single whole.”
Ray Bradbury, “Fahrenheit 451”
Recently, reading has been actively promoted on many resources. A huge number of lists of books marked “must-read”, cute pictures “about how cool it is to read and become smarter”, and the like are created. The propaganda is so active that the very fact of reading is elevated to an absolute. But what does reading give us?
My next statement may seem strange to some, but this is all complete nonsense. Reading does not make you smarter, kinder, or better. We over-romanticize and exaggerate the possibilities and role of books. We hold them (as we do quite often) responsible for who we have become and the world we live in. Isn't it? Are we type-smart-readers, we don’t sigh furtively: “If only people read more, the world would be a better place.” In one of his interviews, Boris Strugatsky said:
“It’s funny and impossible to treat the reader as a kind of pet raised on your books - he was raised by Mother Life, and in this life your book is just a small crumb, a spark, an elementary particle of existence, capable, of course, of much: supporting, strengthening , to convince, - but by no means capable of changing, transforming, “transforming”.
All the books in the world are not capable of this - otherwise why do scoundrels, swindlers, liars, and moral monsters thrive among us. All of them are literate. Most of them had to read. There are no books that teach you to be a liar, a cheat and a moral monster. They all teach the opposite. And yet...
So what does reading do then?
In my opinion, reading doesn’t make you smarter - yes, your horizons and erudition expand, but reading doesn’t make you smarter. A thought process that triggers Maybe serving as a book is, after all, an optional process and depends entirely on the desire of the reader. Let's not forget about this tiny factor (which those who talk about the importance of reading completely forget about) – what books we read and what thoughts after reading we think, if, of course, we think.
Agree, there is some difference between Dostoevsky and the same Coelho (no matter what they say about the fact that each author has his own reader, that value lies in diversity, “what is good for a Russian is death for a German,” etc.)
I’ve been rummaging through popular video blogs on YouTube about books nominated no more or less for the Ozon Prize “best book blog 2014″ (ulielie, Olya Monday, [ala] and BadmaestroVs). Video blogs of girls, in my opinion, confirm the idea that reading does not make you smarter. A video blog BadmaestroVs confirms the hypothesis that, firstly, on average, men are smarter than women in a ratio of at least 1 to 3, and secondly, that intelligence is not a guarantee of anything. The mind cannot be synonymous with decency, kindness, depth and other human virtues.
One of the main advantages that good books give (and I am convinced that reading makes sense) good books), They shift our gaze from our loved ones to truly important things. Sometimes we even make a discovery - it turns out that you are not the center of the earth at all, and there is something in the world that is much more important and greater than us: our desires, our feelings, our pain...
Good books ask questions. These questions are from the category of difficult, inconvenient, but if you think about them, it will lead to something. Such questions make our soul stretch, make it slide off the comfortable sofa of pleasure, make it move and work. Although, of course, as Ray Bradbury wrote, you don’t have to read books for this... even good ones.
What does reading give me?
For me it is still the best, because I am a terrible selfish person, and good books literally pull me out of my life by the scruff of the neck. snot-about-how-it-doesn’t matter to me, and gently but firmly shake and set the brains in place. They wipe my foggy eyepieces, turn my gaze into the night sky, in which myriads of stars shine, lift me to the tops of mountains, where a clean and cool wind blows (by the way, this is exactly the way I determine for myself which books are good and which are not) .
So by reading good books I save myself from myself. Perhaps the authors of good books themselves were saving themselves from themselves when they wrote books... Who knows?..
Why our future depends on libraries, reading and imagination
A great article by writer Neil Gaiman about the nature and benefits of reading. This is not just a vague reflection, but a very clear and consistent proof of seemingly obvious things.
If you have math friends who ask you why read fiction, give them this text. If you have friends who convince you that soon all books will become electronic, give them this text. If you remember trips to the library with fondness (or vice versa with horror), read this text. If you have growing children, read this text with them, and if you are just thinking about what and how to read with children, even more so, read this text.
It is important for people to explain which side they are on.. A kind of declaration of interests.
So, I'm going to talk to you about reading and how reading fiction and reading for pleasure is one of the most important things in a person's life.
And I'm obviously very biased, because I'm a writer, a writer of literary texts. I write for both children and adults. I've been making my living through words for about 30 years now, mostly by creating things and writing them down. Of course, I am interested in people reading, in people reading fiction, in having libraries and librarians to promote the love of reading and the existence of places where one can read. So I'm biased like writer. But I'm much more biased as reader.
About the benefits of reading. Social video
Nikolay Grigoriev: National security and the benefits of reading
More details and a variety of information about events taking place in Russia, Ukraine and other countries of our beautiful planet can be obtained at Internet Conferences, constantly held on the website “Keys of Knowledge”. All Conferences are open and completely free. We invite everyone who wakes up and is interested...
The potential of the average person is determined by the size of his personal library.
And inversely proportional to the size of his TV.
Jim Rohn
Many people ask the question: what will reading this book give me? Why should I read it? After all, this is only a book, but life is life. In life, everything is different.
In fact, reading smart books gives a lot. School and university provide only basic training, the basics of knowledge. And often not about what a person needs to be effective and successful in life.
IN modern world In a world of high competition not only between companies or states, but also between people for a place in the sun, you need to be a body ahead of your neighbor in life. Just to keep up with life, and even more so to succeed, knowledge must be replenished regularly and in a wide range.
Friends, colleagues, the Internet - these are the sources of information for the modern average person. But these sources, let’s say, are not competent enough. The information that comes from them is, as a rule, scattered, unorganized and often represents information garbage.
To get useful structured information you just need to read books!
The book is the result of the work of many people, each of whom is a professional in their field. This is the author or authors who share their professional knowledge, editors, designers, illustrators and other specialists who make the book not only rich useful information, but also "readable". Unlike the Internet, where every day many people post a lot of their own or other people’s nonsense, the book is the result of the work of many professionals.
Each book, before reaching its reader, goes through several “filters”. After all, in order to publish a book, you need to find a publishing house that will consider it appropriate to print it. As a result, at least some part (and this is the majority) of so-called “crazy” and/or unreadable books are eliminated early stage. We are spared from reading various literary garbage.
So what are the benefits of reading books?
Again, it is obvious that books provide knowledge. Sufficiently structured, ordered knowledge. Knowledge that you were not given in educational institutions. Knowledge that you lack to solve your life problems.
Smart books make you think. After reading some books I want to exclaim: This is it! In the book you can find information that will make you think about things you never even thought about. One single thought in one single book can change your entire life.
What else does reading books give? Books often describe examples on the basis of which you can understand your own situation. Case-based learning is a very popular form of teaching in business education. A case is a certain complex situation, real example or virtual, most often ambiguous, which requires resolution. Having worked through a significant number of such standard, or not so standard, situations, one develops the skill of solving complex real problems.
And finally, the important role of books is that they inspire and motivate us. They motivate to improve, self-development and achieve better results. After all, someone was able to achieve everything they wanted and overcame their shortcomings. What, I can’t do it?
Have a pleasant and useful reading!
A person receives most of all information through reading. Of course, this is not only reading books or newspapers, but, for example, news on the Internet, updates on a social network, or even SMS.
Thanks to reading, a person learns the news, reads letters, can read the name of a store, a prescription for a medicine, an instruction manual for a device, a name on an election ballot, and much, much more. Without the ability to read, a person becomes helpless. Reading allows a person to live fully.
Books are probably the most important component of reading, because it is in books that we gain the life experience that will be useful to us in life. In books, we can live someone else’s life, analyze it for mistakes or, conversely, brilliant decisions. In the future, we will be able to use this knowledge in our lives.
Of course, it is advisable to read interesting and informative books. I can recommend my favorite books. They are more suitable for teenage boys. These are: “The Martian Chronicles”, Ray Bradbury, “The Fifteen-Year-Old Captain”, Jules Verne, “The Three Musketeers”, Alexandre Dumas, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn”, Mark Twain, “White Fang”, Jack London, “Robinson Crusoe” , Daniel Dafoe, “Divergent”, Veronica Roth, “The Maze Runner”, James Dashner and “Gentlemen and Players”, Joanne Harris.
For girls, the list of books is as follows (my sister and her friends helped me compile it): “The Lovely Bones”, Ellis Sebold, “The Hunger Games”, Suzanne Collins, “Twilight”, Stephenie Meyers, “Pride and Prejudice”, Jane Austen, “ Eat, Pray, Love”, Elizabeth Gilbert, “Jane Eyre”, Charlotte Brontë, “The 100”, Cass Morgan, “My best enemy”, Eli Frey and “Scarlet Sails”, Alexander Green.
Of course, this is a very small list, but if you want to immerse yourself in the magical world of reading, then for starters, this is very cool, in my opinion.
Many people ask the question: “Why do you need to read books?” Indeed, in the age of digital technology, this process is becoming something outdated. “Everything in life is different than in books,” most people say. But in fact, reading is a necessity for every person who wants to gain comprehensive development. So what are the benefits of reading books?
Increases vocabulary
As a rule, people encounter different genres when reading books. In such works there are words that you do not use in everyday communication with other people. Moreover, in order to understand the meaning of a new word, it is not necessary to look up its meaning in the dictionary. Most often it can be understood by context. This way you can not only expand your vocabulary, but also to increase general literacy.
Help communicating with people
Practice shows that reading books not only increases your vocabulary, but also teaches you to speak correctly. In other words, be able not only to express your thoughts clearly and clearly, but also to put them in a beautiful shell.
After just a few readings of works whose authors are world-famous classics, you will be able to feel the difference. The reader will begin to show his talent as a storyteller, thereby making a pleasant impression on many people. This will help you become an interesting conversationalist, which is exactly what people are drawn to.
Sociologists argue that reading people will always lead those who have never held a book in their hands in their lives, but preferred television to this process. These arguments are based on the fact that such activities do not contribute to the intellectual development of the individual, so watching television should be limited to two to three hours a day.
Self Confidence
One of the answers to the question of what reading books gives is self-confidence. Increasing your erudition also leads to an increase in your own self-esteem. You will begin to communicate with more interesting and comprehensively developed people. And your competent and interesting speech will raise you a step higher, compared to people who don’t read books at all. This in turn leads to recognition from people around you, which also has a positive effect on self-esteem.
Nowadays, stress is becoming a problem for almost every person. It has been scientifically proven that the richness of book text effectively promotes calm and relief from stress. Carry out such anti-stress procedures immediately before you go to bed. In addition to peace and tranquility, you will also get vivid dreams based on the book you read.
Impact on "dormant" areas of the brain
When thoughtful, he begins to imagine himself in the place of the main character and fully live his life. Thus, there is a complete immersion in the book. Therefore, those areas of the brain that are usually not involved begin to work. This effect does not occur when watching TV shows or playing computer games.
Development of memory and thinking
When reading books, a person is forced to think a lot in order to understand the author’s intentions. And through reasoning, thinking and the ability to consider one situation from different angles develop. And memory develops through memorization large quantity details that are necessary to fully understand what is happening.
In addition to this, imagination develops. With slow and thoughtful reading, first images appear, and then whole pictures of what is happening. And no film can so brightly, colorfully and fully convey all the events taking place in the book.
Delays the aging process
This reading property is very difficult to believe, but it is true. Aging occurs much faster when the brain begins to age. Reading stimulates his work. During this process, the brain activates almost all its areas, thereby training it. A neurological load arises, which has a beneficial effect on the body as a whole. With such loads, blood reaches the areas responsible for the ability to concentrate and the ability to learn new information.
What does reading books give to a child?
First, reading books helps build a strong emotional bond between parent and child. It is better to give preference to children's literature. These are for reading to children.
Secondly, through reading books, a child gains new experience, expands his horizons and learns more about the world around him. For example, if a child is afraid to go to the doctor, then you can read him a book about the doctor who cured everyone. And then the fear will be much less, and the child will have more courage. But here it is important to choose correctly which books to read in order to form the right views on the world.
Thirdly, reading helps develop communication skills. Even if a child listens to an adult, this process helps to replenish his vocabulary. The need to read books is perhaps obvious. The child also learns to construct grammatically correct sentences and express his opinion.
List of books that every person should read
Where to start?
- "The Master and Margarita" is a novel written by Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov in the 20th century. This is a work on which the author worked for more than ten years. It became business card writer. It intertwines satirical humor, pure love and gambling with evil spirits.
- "Eugene Onegin" is a novel in verse written by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, a representative of the Golden Age of Russian literature. Work on the work began in 1823 and ended more than seven years later in 1831. The central plot of the novel is a love affair, and the main problem that the author makes you think about is the struggle between feelings and duty.
- No less famous is “Crime and Punishment” by Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. The book influenced the minds of not only the writer’s contemporaries, but also subsequent generations of descendants. The work can also be classified as a detective genre. It describes the main character, a terrible murder, its investigation, and there is a place for pure love. The main questions that Dostoevsky raises in his work: what is a person?
- It is not for nothing that the epic novel “War and Peace” received recognition throughout the world. The action takes place back in 1805 in Tsarist Russia and continues until the War of 1812. The author captures two polarly different areas of life at once - military and secular. Cunning intrigues are intertwined here, true love, doubts and war. The fate of the central characters brings them together more than once, which leads to happy and sometimes tragic consequences.
- "The Little Prince" is the most famous work written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Distinctive feature The books contain illustrations that were drawn by the author himself. They do not just visually show what is happening in the story, but are a significant part of it. The main characters discuss the drawings and argue about them.
- “Hero of Our Time” is one of the most unusual works written by Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov. The work is a biography of the main character in the form of diary entries. What is unusual is that parts of the novel are arranged in chronological order. And only after you read the book to the end will you understand what the author’s intention was.
- "One Hundred Years of Solitude." Author - Marquez. The author talks about the city of Macondo, lost in the jungle - from its very foundation to its decline. It also tells about the Buendia family that lives with this city. The daily life of the heroes is intertwined with magical incidents, which are commonplace for the residents of the town. Through this work, as if through a mirror, you can read the real history of Latin America.
- "Fathers and Sons" is a famous work by the writer of classical Russian literature Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev. The life story of the main character, which shows how dramatically the worldview and attitude towards life and people can change, touches and makes you empathize with the main character. The book also raises the eternal question of the struggle of generations and their misunderstanding of each other, otherwise called the problem of fathers and children.
- "Alice in Wonderland" is a children's fairy tale for adults. Lewis Carroll, the author of the book, is known not only as a writer, but also as a professor of mathematics. The story is about a little girl. Following her curiosity, she found herself in an unusual world, where unusual adventures, dangers and new friends await her.
- Stories about Harry Potter. The famous series of books that was able to tear adults and children away from TV screens. It has been translated into more than 60 languages, including the artificial language Esperanto, and such dead languages as ancient Greek and Latin.
The most popular works were listed here, but it is difficult to say which books are the best to read. After all, each person has an individual opinion on this matter.
Summarizing the above, you can understand why you need to read. literature is not easy good habit, but rather a necessity in the modern world. More and more people prefer watching TV shows or computer games, which slow down brain activity, to books. Scientists have proven in a study that six minutes of reading reduces stress levels by almost half. This is much more effective than walking or listening to music.
Therefore, it is important to understand the benefits of regular book reading. It’s not for nothing that they say that people are divided into two types: those who read, and those who listen to those who read.