„Wer liest, verirrt sich nicht.” – Was bringt das Bücherlesen mit? / “He who reads, leads!” - What are the benefits of reading books?

Barbara Marten - 22.09.2019 @ 17:21

Here is my article concerning the topic "Reading is fun". I hope you'll like it and that it will inspire you. :)

Hannah Daxer - 15.11.2019 @ 22:54

Reading is fun/Lesen macht Spaß

By Hannah Daxer, BG/BRG Kufstein/Austria

Sometimes we might ask ourselves: “Why should I read a book, when there is TV? Why should I read a book, when there is social media, which is so important to be up to date with?” “Because reading is fun.” But if your answer is “Well, it’s just fun”, then you may not have understood what reading really is about. Reading a good book may be like experiencing a second fantasy world you can flee to and where you can just fade out your every-day life - and all this only with your mind, by imagination and using your fantasy. This isn’t the only advantage of reading. There are a few more benefits:

For example, studies have shown that reading regularly slows down the process of Alzheimer’s and Dementia because reading keeps your brain active. Reading a good book also helps you to sleep better, it reduces stress, distracts you from your stressful work, school and so on.  While you’re reading you fill your head with new information, which increases your knowledge and makes you smarter; you improve your memory because you have to remember many characters, places, relationships and backgrounds, and reading can also help you to learn a foreign language, it will give you an idea of the different words, contractions and how to spell them. People who read very often are also said to be more relaxed than people who don’t read and they can improve their writing skills tremendously.

One could still find so many other reasons why reading is good for you, emotionally, psychologically and mentally. It has a big effect especially on children. When they’re starting to learn faster and faster, the time has come when they should start reading. Reading is also essential to “survive” in our society: we need to read road or warning signs, patient information leaflets, maps … or we have to fill out applications. So many actions which are now taken for granted would be a lot more difficult if one could not read. Without reading, we can’t develop because we aren’t able to learn something new about medicine, for example, or even to study: Many well-paid jobs require reading as a part of job performance.

Reading also teaches the creative side of a person and people who read are often more confident than people who don’t. Sometimes, when you’re not brave enough to tell someone you’re sorry or you love him or her, a personally written letter will help. The recipient will read it and maybe a friendship can be saved, or a new relationship can be created.

Reading a book can also help you to discover new parts of yourself: you somehow try to connect the characters, events, emotions and experiences and you’ll ask yourself how you would react and how you would manage several situations that happen in the book but have never taken place in your life before. So, you might learn what to do if an incident like the one in the book happens in your life later on.

Reading is a constructive habit; it helps us to stay focused and live in the present. Everyone knows the moment when you have the feeling that the whole world is against you and you just want to give up. In situations like these an inspiring book can change your mind and give you a little bit of motivation. Books can also help you to become more empathic, to understand other people’s feelings under different conditions: While reading you try to understand the characters’ feelings, why they are angry, sad or happy and you learn to listen since you listen to the story the book wants to tell you.

As you see, reading is an extremely important habit in our life, and anyone should read, no matter if young or old, man or woman, boy or girl. In fact, reading is not only a habit but a way of seeing life, books teach you, they help you in difficult situations and they will always require a second fantasy world you can flee to when you’re completely overwhelmed by your everyday life.

Hallo Hannah!

Mir gefällt dein Artikel sehr gut, es war interessant, und du hast viele anregende Beispiele gebracht. Es überrascht mich, dass das Lesen die Alzheimerkrankheit und Dementis verlangsamt und Menschen ruhiger macht. Ich halte das Lesen auch für wichtig, aber ich habe noch nie darüber so nachgedacht wie du. Es ist wirklich interessant, dass das Lesen heutzutage ein Muss ist und man kann nicht „überleben“ ohne das. Du hast Recht, wann man liest, dann wird man sich entwickeln und nicht nur bei wissenschaftlichen Büchern, sondern generell. Menschen, die mehr lesen, sind im Allgemeinen sophistischer (denke ich), weil sie über mehrere Informationen verfügen. Ich mag Bücher auch, und denke, dass alle Menschen lesen sollen, weil man durch das Lesen sehr viel erfahren kann.

Liebe Grüße, Csillag

Csillag Nagy - 19.12.2019 @ 21:47

Hey!

Your article is very informative and well written. Reading definitely has a great impact on every one of us and I think it's very important to support that skill. Like you said, reading is important for our writing skills and I've experienced this in real life. People who hate reading and don't want to even come near to a book are almost always the ones who struggle with grammar and vocabulary. Whereas people who love reading have a great advantage.

You happened to say that books can help to escape your everyday life for once and I could not agree more. I often escape reality for some hours with a good book and that's very relaxing.

Therefore, we need to teach children from a young age on that reading is fun and a stress relieving habit.

Leonie Reiter - 07.01.2020 @ 20:50