I just heard someone say, “I don’t understand the logic in books,” and continued with, “Like what is the point in reading?” Not only am I astonished by what my ears were just pierced by, but also a little heartbroken. Those girls, like many other people, are unaware of the simple gifts that can be savored from any good book.
Books are getaways. The words on a page can hypnotize our minds. Writing can potentially morph the living room couch into a quiet tent, surrounded by millions of vibrating stars that sparkle only 10 feet away. Sentences capture our eyes within their flow, that hook us to read until the very last word. Books are just as addicting as that last cigarette to a smoker, that ending sentence isn’t enough to stop there.
Turning pages is just as healthy as your daily dose of vegetables. Devouring book after book is the sweetest treat that will never make you fat. Reading increases a person's vocabulary, heightening one's intelligence. Books distract a troubled mind, creating an antithesis of a depression and boosts imagination. Books can make someone ponder and even strike up a conversation in a room full of silence. Good writing can either make people irritated, release quick tears of sorrow or break open wide smiles.
Good writing has the ability to influence readers. Newspapers inform the public of what’s going on outside of our lives while leaving room for us to create our own ideas and reactions to the world. There’s a magazine article for any hobby, sport, beauty lover, fashionista, or a fan of the rich and famous. Lastly, books are a never-ending, low-cost education. The right book knows how to please anybody. Books understand those feelings you can’t quite explain, they are the closest comforts that won’t make you feel guilty after indulging.
Staring at social media until you drool is the influence to younger generations that love to absorb Twitter posts. Popular tweets these days are either unrealistic ideas of “relationship goals," an expensive handbag or clothing item that will somehow make you cool, chiseled and skinny bodies of girls and boys that are somehow the definition of perfect, and humor that is either immature and/or making fun of somebody. This influence deteriorates confidence and brainwashes us to believe in standards. Nobody should feel oppressed because their life is not up to par according to the impossible standards of social media.
Whether it's two weeks or 100 years old, there is a present influence in literature. Authors spill their thoughts and imaginations onto paper for us to learn and synthesize while we read. Good writing will paint scenes and emotions, by only the use of words. Books are built to expose us to new information, patent what we already know, and contradict the norm in beliefs.
