Showing posts with label #amreading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #amreading. Show all posts

4 Compelling Benefits of Reading Books

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Image by Olia Danielvich from Pexels.


When did you last read a book, a novel, or even a sports or fashion magazine? Do your daily reading habits revolve around Facebook updates, tweets, or even your instant oatmeal cover guidelines?


If you are one of the many people who do not regularly read, you might be missing a lot.


Reading has various benefits, and here are four benefits of reading you need to know.


Expands Vocabulary


The more you study, the more words you discover, and they make their way to your daily diction.


Being fluent and well-spoken helps in any career. Good vocabulary can aid in your profession. People who are well-spoken and knowledgeable on many topics get promotions quickly than those with a lack of literature awareness and fewer vocabularies.


Acknowledging that you can articulate with self-confidence can improve your self-esteem.

Additionally, reading has proven helpful, especially in child development. When children get exposed to reading materials like illustrated classics, they learn new words and their meaning.


Reading books is also essential when learning new languages. It exposes non-native speakers to words used in a specific context. It will improve your reading, writing, and speaking fluency.


Reduces Stress


Generally, reading has made the world a better place. You may have stress due to relationships, work, or any other issues in your daily life. Fortunately, with a good book, it all fades away.


Exciting novels can bring you to another world. A pleasant article or magazine will occupy you and have you in the present time, draining your tension and enabling you to relax.


Apart from stress reduction, reading also lowers heart rate and blood pressure effectively as humor and yoga.


Helps Alleviate Depression Symptoms


Consolation from imaginary things is not imaginary consolation. When depressed, you might often feel estranged and isolated from other people. Fortunately, that’s a feeling books can lessen.


Reading fictional novels can allow you to temporarily become swept up in the imaginary experiences in the story. On the other hand, nonfiction self-help books can educate you on strategies that may come in handy when managing depression symptoms.


Additionally, some countries’ health services have started books on prescription programs. This program involves medical experts curating and prescribing self-help books for depression patients.


Improves Memory


When reading a book, you often have to remember the storyline and other vital factors. They may include an assortment of characters, their history, background, ambitions, and nuances, as well as the different subplots and arcs that weave their way through the story.


All that is a fair bit to recall. However, the brain is spectacular and can remember things with ease.


Remarkably enough, every extra memory you make produces new synapses and reinforces the existing ones. This act aids in short-term memory recall and also in stabilizing moods.


Conclusion


There’s a reading genre for all literate people on the planet. Whether you prefer poetry, classical literature, magazines, biographies, self-help guides, or religious texts, there is something that will capture your imagination and curiosity.


Take a break from your computer, open a book, and refresh your mind for a little while.



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Why Our World Would Basically End If Books Disappeared

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For so long, books have been an integral part of most people’s lives - but what if they didn’t exist? A common pastime for many, books help enrich our world and are a powerful source of relaxation as well as escapism. Nothing beats curling up with a brilliant book and a warm drink on a cold and blustery day or picking up something thought-provoking to satisfy our curiosity and expand our knowledge. In short, books are amazing for our mind, body, and our soul, but can often go unnoticed in a world that is dominated by technology. What makes them so universally loved and why are they still so relevant in the digital world?

Books Encompass Knowledge
Books are a learning gateway and a foundation of endless knowledge that provides us with an understanding of the world around us. From a young age, books provide us with essential building blocks in life including literacy, social and communication skills. They preserve all knowledge of the past and are a reminder of how far humanity has come. Books bring awareness to pressing issues in society and enlighten us about other cultures. Without books, our intelligence would certainly not be so advanced, and we would be living in a very bleak world.



Books Make a Huge Impact on Our Lives
The power of words can be often underestimated. Whether it’s a psychological thriller, a crime novel, or trending biography, unforgettable, profound books present us with an array of emotions that can move us and broaden our minds and perspectives. The works of others, whether fictional or non-fictional, can often inspire us to make changes in our lives and can ultimately stay with us forever. Aiming to finish a book gives us a focus and goal to complete, and they also have the incredible physical ability to lower stress levels, and can even deflect unwanted feelings of negativity.

Books Sharpen Our Minds
Books are capable of more than just entertainment – they’re vital tools to living a healthier lifestyle. Since books require concentration, reading can essentially count as a workout for your brain. Studies have revealed that reading stimulates our brains and can improve our cognitive functioning, especially the part within the brain that is responsible for focusing, critical analysis, as well as our memory. In fact, studies have suggested that engaging in reading regularly encourages a delayed decline in key mental capacities, which can potentially result in a longer life.

Books Enhance Our Imagination
When you open a book, you open up a completely new universe - reading is an immersive and fulfilling experience that pulls us out of our usual day to day thoughts. When you’re nose deep into a book, magic happens and everything else around you seems to fade. Endless amounts of worlds and characters that you meet in books help to spark your imagination through the visualization of what you read. Reading can additionally strengthen your writing ability and creative skills – who knows, reading more books could help you become the next top bestselling author or prolific academic writer!

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The Essential Guide To Getting Your Kids Into Reading

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How many times do you venture into your kids’ bedrooms with your fingers crossed hoping to find them with their head in a good book, only to find them with headphones on playing some online RPG with pals? If you have read my blog previously, you know I LOVE reading. You can check my many book suggestions by clicking here for all of my posts reviewing various and sundry books.

28 Day Reading Challenge - Day 10

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I've read some pretty good chick-lit lately.  Sophie Kinsella never fails to come through.  One of her new books, Surprise Me also does not disappoint.

28 Day Reading Challenge - Day 9

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I run the risk of seeming like a book reader that really only loves books that get turned into movies given that most of my other posts in this challenge fit that description.  Particularly with today's selection of The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks.

28 Day Reading Challenge - Day 8

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The Happiness Project was another one of my favorite books from last year.  It follows the story of Gretchen Rubin as she tries to cultivate happiness over 365 days after having the realization: "The days are long, but the years are short."

She performs a variety of different experiments incorporating the wisdom of the ages, current research, and popular new trends to try and find what makes one happier.  She tests the theory of can money buy happiness.  Turns out it can if wisely spent.  What the Kon Mari method and my mother have been telling me for years - outer organization creates inner calm.

It is hilarious and at times a little sad as Gretchen finds her way through the 365 days of grappling with what happiness means.  I loved the book and definitely considered doing a 365 day happiness project myself.  Turns out lots of other people did too and now, there's a Happiness Project Manifesto, groups, along with dozens of other resources.

Until tomorrow and the next great read!





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28 Day Reading Challenge - Day 7

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The Tea Girl from Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See is by far one of the most moving books I've read in a long while. I have loved Lisa See's books since I first read Shanghai Girls which was the first encounter I had with her work. I've since read most of her books, heard her speak, and been a loyal fan for years. The Tea Girl follows an Akha through her life in Yunnan province.


The Akha people are one of the 55 minority groups that exist within China's borders. Yes, China definitely has more than just Han majority. I actually spent 3 weeks in Yunnan province in 2001 and went to some of the places mentioned in The Tea Girl. It is a beautiful province that was extremely poor both in the novel and my personal experience.


Times have changed over the past 20 years and with the growth of the tea industry, Yunnan has become famous for their Pu'er tea. Tea is at the center of this story and how it shapes the life of Liyan. It is how her peasant family made a meager living prior to the opening of China and how Liyan ultimately triumphs. It the story of loss, love, struggle, enduring and overcoming.
It is also the story of mothers and daughters - a unique bond that defines who we are as girls and women the world over no matter race, creed, religion, or background.  Read this book!
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28 Day Reading Challenge - Day 6





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The Help came out several years ago and also was made into a movie. It takes place in the deep South back in the 60s when white women were expected to marry, play bridge, and have the help raise their children.

28 Day Reading Challenge - Day 5

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28 Day Reading Challenge - Day 4

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28 Day Reading Challenge - Day 3


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28 Day Reading Challenge - Day 2

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28 Day Reading Challenge - Day 1

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September Reading List - a little late!

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A little late with my September reading list, but I did quit one job, start another, and have just generally been really busy.