When you hear the words “reading” and “books”, what do you think of? I’ll tell you that I think of the countless worlds and perspectives and lives I get to experience in a truly magical medium. So why does reading feel so… dead? I don’t mean mandatory reading for school because that is definitely still huge. I mean reading in your free time because you actually want to, just like you might watch TV or play video games for fun. Now that might sound silly since a lot of you probably don’t find reading fun, rather the opposite. So I’m going to tell you why reading is awesome and why you should at least try doing it for fun!
First of all, books contain so many stories and lives within them that you’re simply missing out on if you don’t read. You might say that TV and movies do too, but there are just some stories in literature that movies and TV will never have. For me, personally, as a Muslim and a Pakistani, I’ve found representation in books that I’ve never found anywhere else. Hollywood typically depicts Muslim in a negative light, and I was so tired of it. When I read books like Love From A to Z, Ayesha At Last, and so many more about Muslims and brown people being heroes and heroines in their own stories, falling in love and standing up for themselves, I felt seen like I’ve never felt seen before. This is true of so many other identities, too. With books, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) get to tell their own stories. There are books like Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse, an Adult fantasy inspired by the civilizations of the Pre-Columbian Americas. Then there are books like We Hunt The Flame by Hafsah Faizal, an Arabian-inspired Young Adult fantasy. Books get to tell magical stories and have meaningful discussions while having beautiful representation that doesn’t exist in any other medium, and I don’t think anyone should miss out on them!
Books as a medium are so very different from movies and TV in wonderful ways. Most books don’t have an aural or visual aspect (excluding audiobooks and book covers), which means the story is almost totally conveyed through words. This forces you to use something amazing: your imagination. With books, the lack of visuals and sounds force you to create the visuals yourself. There really isn’t a feeling like reading a fantasy novel, your brain reconstructing everything you read, your imagination conjuring up the smells, tastes, sounds, sights and feelings of an entirely new world. This also relates to the fact that reading is more of an action than watching a screen is, making the experience actually interactive. Also, this happens to make reading a relaxing activity (as long as you aren’t reading a pain-filled series like the Ember Quartet) that makes for a great way to wind-down before sleeping. Overall, reading is an intimate experience, a one-on-one between you and a book where your creativity is sparked and you’re alone with your thoughts on the words in front of you. This also happens to make reading a relaxing activity (as long as you aren’t reading a pain-filled series like the Ember Quartet).
My last reason is simply that I find reading fun. Yes, I find it enjoyable! Why? Well it’s because I love stories like I’m sure many of you do. Getting lost in a book can be just as fun as binging a Netflix show, maybe even more so! Exhibit A: The An Ember In The Ashes series, which I previously mentioned. It’s a Young Adult fantasy series with some of the most raw, real characters I’ve ever followed along with some of the most impactful writing I’ve read. The story is honesty riveting, as in “you’ll literally be turning the pages to find out what happens” riveting. This series has some of the craziest twists and turns, too. Plus, the romance is adorable. It’s just as bingeable as something like Stranger Things, so why miss out on it just because it’s a book? If this doesn’t make you want to try reading, just know that there’s literally something for everything. Exhibit B: These Violent Delights, a Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1926 Shanghai. When I read Romeo and Juliet in 9th grade, I didn’t have the best time. This retelling somehow made me appreciate the original because These Violent Delights is one amazing story that is simply entertaining. The characters are easy to fall in love with, the setting is vibrant, the story twisted, and oh, the romance will attack your heart. So if English class happened to make you hate reading, just know that there’s probably a retelling of the book you hated reading that you might love! Actually, The Great Gatsby just turned 100 years old this year, which means retellings are allowed to be told. It’s just exciting to know that all of these classic stories get to be retold by so many new people, and for me at least, it’s tons of fun reading these retellings!
I hope I at least sparked your interest in picking up any kind of book! It could be an audiobook, a graphic novel, or a picture book! There are so many stories just waiting for you, so please give them a try because reading is awesome!