Caitlin Moran once said, "However many terrible, rankling, peeve-inducing things may occur, there are always libraries." And I have to say, I completely agree. Because libraries hold the only magic that humans are able to produce: books. If you don't take advantage of that purity, I don't understand you.
1. There is a book for everybody.
Seriously. I’m not playing with you. No matter who you are, what you do, what you like, or what you’re into, there’s a book that can make you laugh, cry, or at least relate to. If you’re a serial killer on the run, there’s a book for you. Honestly, there’s probably a book series for you.
2. You can learn so, so much about the world.
Am I the only one who has no desire to get first-hand experience about how great or horrible the world and the people in it can be? No? Good! Good news for us anti-curiosity introverts: Books offer that sort of insight without you ever having to leave your house. You want to travel? Read Eat, Pray. Love. You want to learn about human nature? Read The Great Gatsby. You want to know about the love of owning an animal? Read Where the Red Fern Grows (just kidding don’t EVER read that book).
3. It can make you appreciate what you have.
Oh, you think your life is bad? Try being Katniss Everdeen and having to fight her lover in the arena for the sick bastards at the Capital.
4. You can find a story that relates completely to what you’re going through.
If you’re going through a break-up, fighting an addiction, struggling financially, or dealing with a loss in the family: There is a self-help book for you. There are fiction books for you. There are people who have gone through the same things you have, handled it like a boss, and wrote down everything that you need to know in order to survive this season of your life. Books have been my solace through so many changes in my life.
P.S. Cheryl Strayed is pretty good at dealing with any of the topics I listed above so check her out. Just FYI.
5. They can bring out emotions that you didn’t know you had inside of you.
Seriously, I’ve never felt so much empathy for someone as I did when Tris’s mom died in Divergent. I couldn’t handle it, and I haven’t even lost a parent. And I didn’t think it was possible for me to ‘laugh out loud’ during a book until I read The Martian by Andy Wier. SO. GOOD.
6. You gain perspective.
How will we ever understand the magnitude of pain that September 11, 2001 caused until we read biographies by those who lived through it, felt every emotion to feel, and survived. How can we know what survivors of Hurricane Katrina went through unless we read about their fear and unbounded hope first hand?
7. People write what they can’t say.
Have you ever gotten a love letter from someone that was filled with the most insane amount of love? And you literally said, “I had no idea that he/she felt this way.” There’s a reason. Spoken words are hard and they hurt. Written words are easy, and it’s hard to let everyone see them, but it’s harder to tell everyone all the crazy stuff that’s going on in your head. You’ll never get to know someone as well as you would if you read something from their heart. It’s insane how much people let their hearts bleed on paper.
