How reading can benefit other areas of our lives

The only benefit of reading isn’t just feeling prepared to contribute in a seminar or smashing exams, but realising this has not been a day’s work for me. Especially as a science student, the benefits of reading did not become apparent to me through school.

Reading fiction has been a hobby for a long time now and reading textbooks a necessity. Ever since I came to Warwick and immersed myself in the interdisciplinary culture of the University, however, I have become a lot more diverse and explorative in my choice of books.

Speaking from experience, fiction trains your mind into thinking introspectively and teaches you to become a lot more composed. You learn to analyse and reflect upon the words which is very important given how we let situations drive us into saying what we don’t truly mean, unfortunately often unpleasant.

The voice of the narrator guides us into immersing ourselves in situations we may previously not have been in and enables us to experience emotions nevertheless making us more emotionally informed, therefore emotionally intelligent.

As I turned every page of the book, it helped me to untie yet another knot releasing the reasons why I do things in a certain way

When I came across the Very Short Introductions series, I decided to use these as a starting point to learn about a range of fields along with my full-time efforts in trying to train my mind into thinking like a chemist. For example, I learnt about the beginning of the feminist movement as well as developing an understanding of many of the economic concepts.

But non-fiction is not only limited to the outside world. They can also provide us with a medium to explore ourselves on the inside better. During the Sprint programme, I came across the book Quiet by Susan Cain which grabbed my interest straight away. As I turned every page of the book, it helped me to untie yet another knot releasing the reasons why I do things in a certain way. I am not saying it enchanted me or I have been transformed after reading the book. I am still the same person, however the book has greatly helped me with self-awareness and feeling comfortable in my own skin.

Non-fiction can also enable us to connect with our past. I read a couple of books on the Second World War after finishing GCSE History and the experience was phenomenal. The horrors of war are best known by those who’ve seen them but books are very potent as well. The writers put a lot of effort into their accounts and they truly bring the events from the past to life. Not only is reading these books important for us to become closer to our history and culture but it is imperative that we continue writing and reading about our history to prevent its repetition in many cases.

These can also serve as a light read alongside managing the heavy workload of university life

Even though we are technically adults now, there are benefits to reading children’s books. Children’s books can take us back to our early childhood years and evoke curiosity as well as creativity in a style simple to digest and amusing to read. As well as being entertaining and a way of getting young children to like reading, there is a deeper value to such books. They consolidate understanding of basic manners taken as a given in society. They often encompass topics such as jealousy and revenge and portray them to children in a way that they understand both the concepts and how they can be damaging to them. These books help to seed the young minds with an understanding of many of the lessons useful in later life.

We do not, however, become immune to such tendencies by reading at a young age. Going back to reading children’s books and thinking about their messages can remind to us our shared values and needs that we may overlook when dealing with the complexities of adult life. These can also serve as a light read alongside managing the heavy workload of university life.

Better understanding of society makes us better-aware citizens. Being better aware of ourselves can enable us to make wise and well-informed choices. Being emotionally intelligent can enable us to connect with other people better thereby enhancing our relationships.

In this way, I think books truly help us to become more informed and indeed better at everything we do. While these are some of the benefits I have acquired through reading but every book and every genre has something to add to our lives and the benefits are experienced by those who read.