Books have always played an important role in culture and daily life. But in our generation, people seem to ignore books because of modern technology.
In this article, we will go through the importance of books, as discussed by experts:
As an adult, I notice the impacts books have on me at different levels:
Books create more profound memories that stay for life
Books influence us over time as our brain actively personalizes the creation of the characters and the story. Have you read a book then watched the movie adaptations? Were you disappointed by the movie?
The author sets the characters, the plot, and the context. Our brain takes it to a deeper level. For example, yesterday, I thought about “L’assommoir“ from Émile Zola for some reason.
I had to read that book as an assignment for school. Twenty years later, I still remember the images I created of Gervaise, a strong woman who managed to make her own company with a child in charge.
I still remember how I imagined her with brown hair arriving at her shoulders, a strong upper body, and an old-fashioned dress with flowers.
Today, I know that life can change from one minute to another and that I need to keep working hard to avoid a potential downfall — a big lesson of life.
Books help us relax
I am now a “book” person. I enjoy reading a book before going to bed. When I want a book, I share the story (and often the book) with my friends to keep the discussion going and discover potential new interpretations.
I am not part of a book club, but books have a social aspect connected to them.
Books can help entrepreneurs
I am launching my start-up, so I read books to learn how to market books, use social media, and become a successful entrepreneur. There are fantastic book resources out there! Even Bill Gates said that his reading habit is “key to [his] learning.”
Related: 68 Best Business Books for Entrepreneurs
Books meant cuddling time as a mum
Reading books before going to bed became a night routine soothing my children. Seven years later, we still read books every night before bed (and we kept the warm cuddles).
I have a Library card to make sure that we rotate the books as I have book addict girls.
As a mum thinking about my children’s future, I believe that books can help them have a fulfilling life. Books entertain my children, make their dream, and develop their creativity.
My 7-year-old is now creating her own books and stories inspired by ideas she got from books she read. It teaches them new skills to help them grow up.
For instance, I bought “Honeycake – Counting all my blessings“ by Medea Kalantar for my daughter. The author uses the green-eyed monster to teach how to deal with jealousy.
After reading the book, my daughter identified her jealous feelings, talked about them, and avoided tantrums. What a blessing!
It teaches children to be better people
It teaches them to be better people. “My Friend is Sad“ from Mo Willems is a good example. The Elephant is sad. His friend Piggie tries different strategies to make Elephant happy because he does not want to see his friend miserable.
Shouldn’t we all do the same? Cheering up our friends?
It builds children’s vocabulary
It builds their vocabulary. The more children hear a word, the more familiar they become with it. At one point (and with explanations), their sponge brain adopts the new words and uses them naturally.
Books are powerful. There is a book about any topic where the reader can build up knowledge and deepen their own interests independently of the reader’s age. Giving access to reading and books is critical for a better future.
Books are necessary for a successful mental health journey
I’ve always argued that reading (and writing) are necessary for a successful mental health journey. However, entering into that battle to maintain our sanity has never been more critical in this time of isolation.
I’m speaking here specifically of reading full books as well – for reasons I’ll mention below.
When I was in seminary, the head librarian introduced me to the idea of books as “conversation partners.” I had never previously heard such a concept, but it quickly made all the sense in the world – especially have I witnessed my own interaction with books through the years.
When we read a book, we enter into a relationship with the author where we are challenged, and we challenge back. When we read a book, we (hopefully) listen, but in this inexplicable way, we are also heard.
These conversations led to personal growth – which is the beginning and end of it all for me.
This is why I speak specifically of books – not just articles. Articles or short pieces (such as this one) are also hugely important, don’t get me wrong.
However, a book is an investment in a relationship beyond just an acquaintance, if you will. An article is the equivalent of a great chat you have with someone over coffee, but a book is an invitation to spend a weekend together!
Each is key to what I think is the main contributor toward mental wellness – personal growth.
Personal growth
Growth is foundational to human wellness. In today’s polarized world, it can and probably has been said that such a statement makes one “woke” or a “snowflake.”
It seems to me that even speaking of human wellness will probably get you categorized politically. Be that as it may, we owe it to ourselves and our own health to grow.
We have to realize that growth doesn’t happen in a vacuum, but it doesn’t have to happen in a crowded classroom or a therapist’s office either.
Books allow us to enter a relationship with honesty
Reading books allow us to enter a relationship with honesty that frequently we can’t even find inside our relationships with our closest friends or paid therapists.
If we choose to access it, this honesty is a liberation only offered through reading. Reading is as private of a relationship as we care to make it, and that can be the only outlet many of us dare to take.
This brings up the nature of how that growth takes place.
We learn from views other than our own
When we read, we will find new ideas, objectionable ideas, comforting ideas, challenging thoughts, and things “we’ve been saying all along.” As we experience those different interactions – if we approach them honestly – we have an opportunity to learn, and learning is the key pathway to growth.
We learn from views other than our own – they inform our own positions as readily as they give us insight into alternate views of reality.
However, the beauty in reading is that this interaction can take place at a more reasonable pace than strictly human conversation, and, frankly, there can be less shouting and less accusation as we all hunker in to defend our positions.
Books can control the volume and accusation
In today’s world, people are constantly vying for our attention to a position. That vying can typically include increasingly elevated volume and accusation.
While reading a book, we control that volume entirely, which is a good thing.
Don’t get me wrong! While reading, there are still plenty of opportunities to feel attacked or go on the attack. This can frequently be part of learning and growing through challenging relationships as well.
However, it can be much easier to reflect on the attack, pause, and hear what is being said by both parties in the conversation – you and the author.
This is frequently what allows such a challenging conversation to continue – time. When we are in a heated debate with a live human (which can certainly still be a growth experience), it’s much easier to become judgmental toward that person and to feel the attack as personal for some reason instead of educational.
Books help us feel heard
I’ve saved this for last as it, for me, has been the most valuable and important part of reading. For some reason, I’ve been able to engage authors over shared struggles in a way that helps me walk away feeling heard to a much greater extent than most other human interactions.
Maybe that’s my own fault in how I treat human interactions – I don’t know. All I know is that being heard matters.
I find there is nothing more healing to a human psyche than to know that it’s been heard. I also find there’s nothing more important in the process of healing from any situation than to hear you are not alone in that situation.
There is nothing that gives a person more courage than knowing that others have fought this fight and come out the other side. There is nothing that empowers the sense of being heard as feeling the empathy of another.
Indeed, that can happen in live interactions, but the pace and intimacy through which it can occur in the written word cannot be replicated.
For the most part, when I read, I find myself in a mutual relationship with the author and not a judgmental one in either direction. I’m sure there are critical books out there, and, like judgmental living humans, it’s probably usually best to set them down and move on.
We can write our own book
The last piece I offer regarding the value of books comes down to writing your own to provide yourself with as a conversation partner to others. I realize that not everyone has the time or opportunity to do such a thing, but I can’t overstate its value.
When I wrote “Shame Unmasked,” it was my sole hope to give people a companion in their journey through their own battle with shame (and maybe narcissism).
I came to find in that experience that not everyone cared for what I had to say, and I had to process (and grow through) that rejection. I also found there were plenty of people I was able to help by simply sharing my own story and path – much as I would if I were personally with them.
In the end, both the writer and reader grow from the experience and are given a leg up in becoming our best selves. Maybe that means I’m “woke” or a “snowflake,” but I think nothing is more worth accomplishing, and books are key to getting it done!
They allow for basic human connection through story
I found myself returning to the pages of my favorite book. “Because of Winn-Dixie“ was the sole story that made me fall in love with reading.
Each time I found a stopping point or had to quit reading for the day, I would clutch it against my chest, basking in the joy it evoked as an elementary school girl.
As a tale of a belonging and unlikely friendship, I found representation within its pages even at a young age, envisioning myself as the main character, Opal, a brave ten-year-old who stood up for what she wanted and what she believed was right.
That’s why books are important. They allow for basic human connection through story. We all want to be seen in this world, and books will enable us to relate to characters, find commonalities, and know we’re not alone.
Even if we didn’t experience the exact happenstance a character underwent, we could relate to the trauma, joy, pain, determination, etc., that resulted.
I think when we read, no matter if it’s nonfiction or fiction, we find ourselves somewhere in the story. We seek out the person who mirrors us the most or the person who reflects who we want to become.
Books inspire us to dream beyond ourselves
Books also inspire us to dream beyond ourselves, learn new perspectives, and see the beautiful and ugly parts of history reimagined into new worlds.
We get to explore realms that we wouldn’t otherwise in day-to-day living. Even movies can’t evoke the same level of imagination. Have you ever seen a movie before reading the book it was based on? If you go back and read the book, you’re only going to replay the movie in your head.
But, if you read a book before the movie comes out, you’re going to create your own unique version of the world, story, and characters. The author’s original vision varies from yours, too.
That’s what makes books so magical. Not one person will conceptualize the same connection, symbolic comprehension, or images in their mind when reading a book.
Books are like a guide
Overall, books are like a guide. The author has written a story full of their own experiences, feelings, desires, and ideas put into words that include layers, symbolism, and themes you may or may not pick up on, which is where the beauty lies.
When the book is in your hands, it’s now your own unique, interpretive journey; a canvas with a base layer allowing you to find your own story within it and to decipher and depict in your minds-eye.
Books allow us to acquire knowledge
Reading is one of the most important skills we learn in life. Reading books allows us to acquire knowledge and vicariously experience things with characters.
Readers can go to faraway places, learn about people, and gain insight into many topics when they read books. Books can provide alternative realities that allow readers to escape real life.
The solution to some problems can be found in books. Authors write books with particular readers in mind to help them learn, cope, and be entertained.
Our world is full of a wide variety of books to help ensure that every person can locate books on topics of interest. For almost every task that an individual completes, there is more than likely a set of books that will increase a person’s level of understanding as it pertains to the task.
Books are essential for education
Most children learn to connect with books at an early age. This connection can lead to a love and appreciation for books as a source of knowledge.
Once children enter school, they rely on books as the primary source of knowledge. Educators use books to guide students to a higher level of understanding in content areas.
Books allow students to practice and improve literacy skills needed to function on higher levels of education. Educators guide students to strive for higher levels of achievement, and books are used to aid in acquiring knowledge.
There are broad types of books
We have different genres of books to appeal to the interest and needs of all people. The broad categories of books are fiction and nonfiction.
Fictional books allow readers to use their imagination and enjoy experiences that may not exist in reality. Nonfiction books serve as a source of factual information about individuals, places, and ideas.
Related: 38 Best Nonfiction Books
At some point in their life, most people have been required to read certain books for school, jobs, and other areas of their life. Books that are needed commonly serve a purpose related to an overall achievement of a goal.
Reading for leisure extends beyond requirements and allows readers to select books based on interest to read at their own pace. People who choose to read as a pastime may choose books based on their interests, hobbies, and/or curiosity.
Conclusion
Books are important because reading is essential. Books open our eyes to new topics. Books help to develop and stretch our imaginations. Almost every household has a collection of books.
Neighborhoods have libraries filled with thousands of books for community members to borrow. Many professionals suggest books to their clients.
People buy books for themselves and give them as gifts. Businesses often display books or magazines to their patrons. We even have different formats of books to appeal to other reading preferences.
Some people choose to read printed books, while others prefer to read electronic and audiobooks. Regardless of a person’s personal preference and interests, there are bound to be many books available for individuals to read.
Books are everywhere in our world because they are important to our growth and development. The more we read, the more we know and grow.
Books are foundational for language and vocabulary building
Before children can even speak, books are foundational for language and vocabulary building. Babies and toddlers can work on receptive language (what they understand) by pointing to pictures when they are named.
Eventually, this leads to them saying some of their very first words! Reading books to young babies is fun for parents to bond with their children, even as they are only a few months old.
As babies become toddlers, books are great for continuing to learn new words and concepts children might not otherwise have access to. Children learn about space, dinosaurs, and countless other ideas they might not encounter in everyday life.
Reading is an excellent base for imagination
Reading is also an excellent base for imagination. Children can insert themselves into the story or insert the characters into their play within books. This is a fun and natural way to work on pretend play. Pretend play is a basic skill that is foundational to creativity and imagination.
If children are read to often as babies and toddlers, they learn preliteracy skills faster, often leading to early readers. Literacy skills in elementary are a great predictor of overall academic success since so much of learning comes from reading new information.
While children learn to read, engaging books are essential to keep them motivated and interested.
Around 3rd or 4th grade, there is a shift in reading. Before these grades, children have been perfecting their ability to read.
Children learn new information by reading books
However, by the time they hit these middle grades, they are expected to learn new information by reading. (Many professionals think of it as the shift between learning to read and reading to learn.)
As children enter middle and high school, reading is one of the main ways they learn new information. Books (textbooks and novels) play a significant role in curriculum for the rest of their schooling.
Aside from formal education, books play an important role in the lives of many adults. Whether for pleasure or growth, books are a fantastic resource.
Books can be a great escape
For those that read just for fun, books can be a great “escape” daydreaming about other countries, other worlds, and other circumstances.
While reading for pleasure as an adult is sometimes viewed as less beneficial than reading nonfiction, there are still plenty of upsides. Reading can expand even the adult vocabulary, and it is a much more engaged pastime than watching TV.
For those adults that prefer reading nonfiction, whether an autobiography or a self-help book, new skills and outlooks are brought to life through the pages of a good book.
Near the end of life, those who continue to read tend to keep their cognitive skills sharper than those who passively watch their favorite soap operas.
Reading is a cognitive skill that can postpone brain degeneration as we age. Books really are a fantastic resource from when we take our first breath to our last!
Lizann Lightfoot
Founder, Seasoned Spouse | Author, “Open When: Letters of Encouragement for Military Spouses”
Some might argue that video is king in the digital world, and books are becoming old-fashioned or outdated. But as a writer, a published author, and an avid reader, I believe that books continue to be necessary.
Whether they are paperback, hardcover, or digital formats, books are important because the written word continues to be an essential element of human communication.
Written words connect us
The words we find in books have the power to connect people worldwide. In a time when video calls are common, and some of us communicate through memes and emojis, there is still an incredible power in the written word.
Whether it’s a journal, a romance novel, a fantasy, or a how-to book, we use written words to convey our strongest emotions, our most vivid imaginations, and for solutions to our greatest challenges.
When I write for the military community — whether it is a news article, a blog post, or a published book — I am aware that my words have the power to connect me to strangers and have a powerful impact on their lives.
Since writing “Open When: Letters of Encouragement for Military Spouses,” I love hearing the ways that my writing has touched someone, helped them through a challenging time, or made their life a little easier.
That connection to the reader is what most authors seek when they create a book.
Words are one of the five love languages
According to the book, “The Five Love Languages,“ there are five different ways that a person can convey their love or seek love.
These are:
- Words of Affirmation
- Acts of Service
- Physical Touch
- Quality Time
- Gifts
Since words are one of the five major ways humans convey love and connection, it’s no surprise that the written terms in books continue to be essential to us.
If we look closer, we can see that writing a book can be an act of service to the author’s community, a reader can enjoy the physical touch or a book’s pages, bibliophiles enjoy spending quality time reading books, and books always make great gifts!
Since a book can reach our love languages, people will continue to treasure them.
I learned the power of the written word as an English Literature major in college. Still, I don’t think I appreciated the power of writing until I spent seven years dating my Marine in a long-distance relationship.
The military kept placing him in time zones that were nowhere near mine, and cell phone service was often not available, so a huge part of our relationship developed through written letters.
When he went to Boot Camp, I wrote to him then to California, Iraq, and Afghanistan. His letters to me were sometimes thoughtful, romantic poems, and other times were hurried messages covered with the stain of foreign sand.
Those letters kept us going through incredibly challenging moments and allowed our relationship to grow. Because I know the power of our letters to each other, I know that the written word will always be important to relationships.
Books communicate timeless ideas
Even though we started writing to each other two decades ago, we still have all our letters! In fact, they have moved with us to six different houses now, and we occasionally pull them out and read them together.
I don’t have our old emails, and you can’t re-read a phone call or video chat. But written words are something you can return to repeatedly—when you seek advice, need an emotional lift, or want insight into someone’s thoughts.
As authors around the world continue to share the power of the written word in books, their books will continue to be relevant. The format of books has adapted to the digital age, with ebook and audio recordings.
But there will always be a powerful emotion when you re-read a favorite story, return to an important passage, or look up some helpful advice.
When I wrote “Open When,” I designed it to be a collection of letters that speak to specific moments in the military family journey.
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It was created to be a book that would stay on your bookshelf until needed, then pulled down and flipped open to precisely the encouraging message you need to hear that day.
A book like that will always be important and be appreciated!
Books can comfort suffering people
John Stuart Mill’s father, James Mill, had educated his son, and they were very close. When James died, John felt devastated and depressed.
John tells us in his Autobiography (1873) that he turned to the poetry of William Wordsworth for comfort. Many other people have also found consolation in books.
Books can inspire readers to have a new career
When I was young, relatives gave me biographical books like Russell Freedman’s Teenagers Who Made History (1961) and Aylesa Forsee’s and Ruth Macrae’s “Women Who Reached for Tomorrow” (1960).
These books emphasized writers, athletes, designers, musicians, actresses, etc., who had accomplished a lot during their lives.
Freedman’s book introduced me to the writer Edna St. Vincent Millay, which got me interested in her poetry and inspired me to write more often.
I hoped that I would have a career as a successful writer. This dream eventually came true.
Books create imaginary or real worlds
Books transport readers to new worlds. For example, Eli Wiesel’s autobiography Night (1960) realistically portrays living in a concentration camp with his father during the Holocaust.
Mark Twain’s novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889) helps readers imagine the medieval world.
Books stimulate readers’ minds and convince us to take action
Books can introduce people to new ideas and convince individuals to take action.
Rachel Carson’s nonfiction Silent Spring motivated many people to limit the use of pesticides like DDT because the chemicals were killing birds and animals.
The Environmental Protection Agency resulted from Carson’s advocacy for greater control over contamination of the earth.
Books can make you change your perspective on life
When I reminisce about all the wonderful books I’ve read, I reflect on how those books made me feel and how they changed my perspective on life.
The first book I remember reading at age 12 was “The Diary of Ann Frank.” That book touched and distressed me and created an intense desire in my young self to understand the human condition’s complex phenomenon.
From that first memorable book, I realized the vital impact of the written word. Whether a biography, romance novel, comedy book, or historical account, books take us away to moments in time where we are engrossed in another world, another life, or a far-away place.
Our present moment is focused, our brains are engaged and fixated, and the outside world, our worries, and stress are put on hold during that precious span of time.
Books allow us to emote in our own space
Books allow us to emote in our own space and relish in the content of our chosen tome. Remember reading a love story that made you cry, a biography that opened your eyes, or a historical account that brought you back in time?
Has a book ever left you feeling inspired or alarmingly educated about an important current event? Books can change lives; books can open eyes and open doors.
Books can also help us understand that we are not alone
Books are teachers. Books can also help us understand that we are not alone in our lives and that our circumstances might not be as different from others as we think.
Take, for example, the book I decided to write about years of crazy online dating stories. Did I expect to write a book about these adventures? Not.
Have I enjoyed the response and the smiles, and the never-ending additional stories I hear when I share my book with other older adults? Absolutely yes!
My new book, “These Stories Are True… I S#!+ You Not: A Humorous Look at Online Dating for the Unsuspecting Older Human,” was a labor of love during the 2020 COVID lockdowns.
Friends finally convinced me to start writing down the most ridiculous dating stories, of which there were many. I was a single mom for a long time and did not have time to balance dating and my chaotic life until my son left for college.
Over the next ten years, what transpired was a series of comical dating adventures that coincidentally morphed into a comedy book.
The response to this book has been excellent, most assuredly because so many older humans have experienced similar adventures in the modern-day dating world.
My book is meant to take readers on a journey of ridiculousness and, ultimately, to laugh at the crazy things we do in our search for love.
When talking to other older humans, I have found that my stories resonate with so many people; young, old, male, female. They laugh out loud at the preposterousness of it all, and for this, I am grateful.
Books can make people laugh
My purpose in writing the book was to make people laugh at the human condition and acknowledge that they are not alone in this crazy thing called life.
Suppose I can bring some fun and a big smile to someone’s face and provide them a good, quick, fun read, even better. Books are amazing companions, and laughter, as always, is the best medicine.
Books are essential in our lives. The written word will never cease to arouse that important and complex consequence – the trusted and constant companion, human emotion.
Books are available whenever you need them
The great thing about books is that they can sit on your bookshelf for ages, but on the one day you need them, you can easily pick one up and read something meaningful.
They don’t change according to algorithms
You can rely on the fact that a book says the same thing to every reader who picks it up. It is not aware of your browsing or purchase history – its only agenda is to tell you a story or get its point across.
That’s not to say that the information in all books is 100% factual or unbiased, but you know it is not changing itself to sell to you.
They can be an excellent source of relaxation
While screens often tire our eyes out and keep us awake late with their blue light, reading a book can be restful.
It also offers a much simpler experience than reading emails, news sites, or social media because your mind will not have to sift through vast amounts of information, jumping between very different topics – it can follow one linear train of thought as it is designed to and that can be very relaxing for our over-used minds.
Books are also non-judgemental, and we are much less likely to compare ourselves unfavorably to others while reading them, which is excellent for our mental health.
They are excellent sources of learning and escapism
The standard of writing online is extremely varied (and a lot of content is provided for free by social media friends). There is a tendency towards lower quality and a high turnover and needing things to be especially cute or shocking.
But books are still held to a higher standard; non-fiction books are mainly very considered and thoroughly-researched, while fiction is crafted to take you on a journey that takes you out of your day-to-day life.
You will find a depth of knowledge or experience in books that are not usually available anywhere else. And while a great movie can take you on a journey for 90 mins, a book can do that for hours or days (or even weeks if you take your time).
Staying with the same topics and characters for so long can be great for our minds, which don’t enjoy jumping between a million topics, and our emotions, as they can explore things at greater depth.
I recommend reading books for greater peace of mind, concentration, and enrichment.
Books can show readers that they are not alone in the world
Books can show readers that they are not alone in the world; they are not the only ones going through challenging situations. Someone dealing with being gay or lesbian, for example, might discover from a book that others have had the same struggles with coming out.
Or, someone who is feeling alone after a divorce, reading a book on the subject, might find validation in the stages of loss they are going through.
Books can also provide solutions for what readers are experiencing
Self-help books can also provide readers with solutions for what they are experiencing. Someone with cancer, for example, might discover from a writer’s own experience with the disease how to not let it get them down.
How to find humor in a not-so-funny situation. Or how the cancer experience can lead them to a new deeper appreciation of life.
Books can give hope and power to a despondent reader
And finally, books can give hope and power to a despondent reader. I remember getting a hand-written letter from an older woman. She said she was molested at a young age and had not told anyone about it for 57 years.
She wrote to tell me that one of the things she read in my book helped her let go of that incident, take back her power, and finally, get on with her life after all these years.
Books open up a world of imagination
Books open up a world of imagination. They help expand our horizons and connect us to the world around us. You can get lost in a good book, and it is a great stress reliever.
Books help us grow mentally and emotionally
They also help us grow mentally and emotionally, especially if we read Self Help or Self Improvement books.
Reading books helps give the brain muscles a good exercise and helps to enhance writing skills. Most readers are good writers or have ideas that they could write about.
Reading is comprehension
As a Reading Specialist, I hear many parents tell me that their children can read books. I continuously have to remind them that reading is comprehension.
So, although books are important, comprehension is the key for students and adults. Once comprehension is established, imagination, knowledge of the outside world, improvement in writing and speaking skills are all things that books offer.
An added bonus is that it boosts our memory and intelligence.
Books teach us about the world
There’s a reason why textbooks are the bread and butter of the education system. When we seek information or learn a new skill, many of us first turn to books. They give us access to all of the world’s wisdom.
Books teach us about ourselves
For centuries people have sought guidance from spiritual literature. The Bible is often described as a “mirror of the soul,” helping us understand our motivations.
Whether we’re glancing through the latest pop psychology bestseller or resonating with the experiences of a fictional character, books provide valuable insights into human nature.
Books teach us how to be better versions of ourselves
According to research, reading fiction makes us better people. Empathy increases by getting into a character’s mind and becoming engrossed in life other than our own.
Reading as a hobby also closely correlates with high intelligence. From Thomas Jefferson to Albert Einstein, many of history’s finest minds loved to read and credited their favorite authors for influencing their thinking.
So, if you seek personal enrichment and constant self-improvement, be a bookworm!
Louel Gibbons, PhD
Adjunct Associate Professor | Author, “To Kill a Mockingbird in the Classroom: Walking in Someone Else’s Shoes (The Ncte High School Literature Series)“
Vicarious experiences broaden our knowledge base
All of us have the same 24 hours in a day, yet reading provides us with a means of absorbing information and experiencing life in ways that surpass what is possible for us to achieve on our own.
By enabling us to live vicariously and connecting us with the universality of the human experience, books empower us to become more well-rounded and knowledgeable human beings.
Increased cognitive functioning and emotional intelligence
Readers of all ages benefit from the increased cognitive functioning that comes from immersing themselves in a book. From building our vocabulary to clarifying our thought processes, the act of reading stimulates all parts of our neurological function.
In short, books help us become more intelligent and empathetic than we could ever be on our own!
Books enhance focus and attention
Distractions abound in 21st-century life, but the act of reading requires us to focus our attention and thoughts on our interaction with the text. In this way, we hone our ability to focus and lengthen our attention span.
Speaker | Poet | Author, “You Ain’t Hungry Until I’m Starving: Nutrition for the Soul“
Books promote critical thinking
Books are important because they promote critical thinking, using your imagination, and creativity. Books help inspire. They tell our history, our present, and our futures. They provide answers to our questions. They enhance our knowledge.
Related: Why is Critical Thinking Important?
I personally use books to learn from people who lived in the past and the present. I learned how they dealt with certain situations, how they may have been innovative, and how they overcame life’s struggles to become successful.
Books allow us to travel to places
Books have a way of calming us, whether we are writing them or reading them. Books allow us to travel to places and times that we have never traveled before; they will let us know about people we will never physically interact with.
Yet, we share their experiences. Each time we read or write a book, we learn more about ourselves. This is why books are important.
Books educate people and teach them to think and draw conclusions
Books are important for many reasons. Among one of the most frequently mentioned is that books educate. There you can find all the necessary information on any subject that interests you.
You needn’t graduate from several universities to get knowledge if you can self-educate. Besides, books teach us to think and draw conclusions.
Books help you switch from your real life and indulge in an imaginary world
Another important reason is that books help you switch from your real-life and indulge in an imaginary world where you can travel to various countries, meet different people, even fly to space.
To cut a long story short, you can relax and learn something new and exciting while reading.
Books can motivate
Not always there are people by our sides who can support or give a piece of advice when we are living through a difficult period in our life.
Reading the right book can save us from depression and gloomy thoughts, cheer us up, and give us the reason to feel happiness and gratitude.
Each person has their reasons for reading books. But everyone will agree that life without books would be dull and grey.
Books have the power to capture an entire life’s experience
Books have the power to capture an entire life’s experience and communicate that experience to someone else, something that’s difficult if not impossible to do in real life with another human being.
Books create social change, spark revolutions, and profoundly impact minds and hearts. Okay, so if we all agree that books are essential, we also have to agree that the people who write the books are important.
When you buy a book, you’re supporting not only that author but the act of writing itself, that communication of experience.
Purchasing a book also helps all the other people involved in bringing beautiful books into the world: the editors, the graphic designers, the photographers, the copy editors, not to mention the marketing and publicity team, the distributors, the bookbinders, and the salespeople, down to the cashier who rings up the purchase and puts it in a bag.
Buying a book supports a whole ecosystem of professionals who spend their lives ensuring great stories see the light of day and that great idea gets their time in the spotlight.
Books are really important because they give you something to flip through while reading and learning.
Books can help children understand different experiences they are going through
Books are available with large pictures and colors for children and can help them understand different experiences they are going through.
Bibliotherapy is a form of child counseling that can help normalize what children are going through, like divorce, through reading a story about another child.
Books are a great coping tool
Books are also a great coping tool. You can read as you are waiting so that you can remain patient.
Books are also a wonderful escape. You can get lost in a fantasy or a novel about someone else’s life, from a completely different time, in a completely different family, and simply enjoy that experience.
Books can improve the brain’s health
Books and reading have also been shown to prevent Alzheimer’s and promote the brain’s health.
Reading is a very mentally stimulating activity and helps to keep your mind sharp. Books are a great tool because you can highlight them, write in the margins, and truly build a relationship with the author through the book.
You may even see the book’s author and explore
You may even see the book’s author, do a book signing, and tour one day. When reading a book, you can get a taste of what it is like to be someone else, and you may even find yourself laughing as well.
Books improve our mental health
If you are stuck in a place, physical or mental, and wish to get out of there but cannot, there’s no better escape route than picking up a book and immersing yourself in it.
Books possess the almost magical ability to lift your spirits and take you into a different world, where all that is going around you seems to vanish into the background.
In stressful situations, or even as a calming end to a particularly tiring day, a book in hand does more wonders than anything else.
We can gain more knowledge
In addition to diverting your mind from stressful thoughts, any activity also makes the brain stronger. When reading a book, we enthusiastically and willingly pay rapt attention to all that’s written in the form of words and sentences and, without even realizing it, gain more knowledge.
We memorize new words and expand our vocabulary, learn new ways to form sentences and push the boundaries of our imagination. This, in turn, improves our communication skills and makes us more confident.
Books help us improve our attention span
Reading also helps us improve our attention span and helps keep our brain busy, elements that help us maintain our cognitive capabilities as we age.
Books can help you combat loneliness
One of the reasons why books are so important is that they can stand in as a friend when you need one. A phrase that is often used is: “there is no better company than a good book,” which is true for many people.
Books can teach people new things and inspire people to be the best versions of themselves.
Books are important because of the perspective they can provide
Something else that makes books so important is the perspective they can provide. Reading a book can make you think about things differently and even make you analyze the choices that you make in your own life.
No matter the genre, every book will offer its own unique perspective. People who read books automatically have the advantage of perspective, leading to empathy and understanding.
Books contribute to both mental and emotional growth
Another reason books are so important is that they contribute to mental and emotional growth.
Reading can help expand your vocabulary and develop your communication skills, which can help with social interactions and developing relationships. Reading can also help improve your memory and enhance your focus.
Dr. Lea McMahon LPC, EdD
Licensed Counselor | Adjunct Professor of Psychology | Chief Clinical Officer, Symetria Recovery
Books enrich our mundane lives
Books can help nurture the intellectual being within all of us. They prove to be a bottomless pit for knowledge and lessons to stimulate our perceptive growth.
Many people believe books can bring comfort, courage, and hope that inspires us to be a better version of ourselves.
Regardless of the genre, each story enriches our lives with a unique experience. This is because it allows us to view things from a different point of view. It excites our intellectual curiosity to think beyond what we know already.
People who love to read are likely to understand others better around them and develop empathy. Books have proven to boost our emotional growth and well-being. This stimulates our imagination as we learn more about the world around us.
Reading books allows you to develop new skills
Here are some of the primary importance that I hope would encourage many to read books:
- Books are a source of extreme knowledge which empowers your brain and cultivates your personality.
- Books are crucial in every student’s life. They can be a great companion for personal development because they introduce the reader to a fantasy world, provide information about the outside world, improve reading, writing, and speaking skills, and improve memory intelligence.
- Reading a book is beneficial to your health since it increases concentration, memory, empathy, and communication abilities.
- Books can help you live longer by reducing stress and improving your mental health.
- Reading books allows you to develop new skills that will help you excel at your job, business, and in your relationships.
- Books are also important because they provide insight into the lives of others, broaden one’s vision, and impact one’s political and social views.
- Books can also teach us how to be better people and assist us in feeling less isolated.
Jessica Dennehy
Recovering Attorney | Speaker | Author, “Pivot & Slay: The ultimate guide to mindset mastery“
Books are the lifeline to the imagination
Books are the lifeline to the imagination. You have to use your senses to craft a world out of the words on the page.
Even if you are reading non-fiction or self-development books, you have to use your creative juices to figure out how to implement the lessons into your own life or business.
Words on a page just hit differently than spoken words. Listening to a podcast or seeing a movie is passive. They don’t require the same level of attention and focus as reading, and that’s what I genuinely love about it.
My mind doesn’t wander. It just nestles right into the book’s vibe and creates my own universe of thought and intrigue.
That innovative thinking is what we need to push forward in life, business, and the world.
It makes our imagination broad
Books open a portal to another world, which can be life-saving depending on one’s home life and current experiences.
It increases knowledge in individuals
It goes without saying that reading books increases knowledge in individuals and understanding of the world around us. Besides that, studies have shown that people who read a lot, write and speak well.
Finally, with books, we control what we take in. Reading is an active activity (as opposed to watching, which is passive) and requires that the reader engages with the content they read in some way, be that through imagination or simply be taking it in.
(If we’re passive readers, our eyes are only reading the words but aren’t taking them in, which is why reading is always active.)
It acts as a friend who is always by your side
Just as we can’t go through life without some companionship, books act as that person who is always by your side. It probably also helps that books have characters (fiction or nonfiction), and characters are relatable beings.
We can also relate to the people we read about in books, which helps make those characters come to life.
That said, the book itself can be considered one of our “friends” —especially for people who are bookworms and who always have a good book by their side!
