The Importance of Being Bookish
Wow! It’s good to be back. So, let the writing begin!
Between my last post and now, I had some time to catch up on some reading. I didn’t know how beneficial and relaxing this was going to be. When I was younger, I dreaded reading. The numerous pages and absolute silence would always overwhelm me. Instead, I wanted to watch movies.
Movies have always captured my heart, especially growing up with Disney classics. That type of movie magic stays with you forever. But, beyond the magical world of Disney, I saw many more films that carried emotional scores, beautiful cinematography and thought provoking dialogue. It was breathtaking. But, I didn’t understand at the time that most of these films came from books.
Thankfully, my sister shared her bookish world with me. She showed me how the writing on the page, built worlds and molded characters. At the time, she was reading books like “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte and "Becoming Naomi Leon” by Pam Munoz Ryan. I read the popular novels at the time here and there, but I wasn’t as excited as she would be reading from chapter to chapter. So, she told me the best thing I could do would be to find a genre I connected with.
As I scouted bookstore after bookstore, my mom found a teen spy novel she thought I would enjoy called “The Specialists: Model Spy” by Shannon Greenland. Since I was in my action-comedy movie era, she knew that this book would be a good match. And sure enough, she was right. I adored that book and told everyone I knew to read it as well. Later on, the novel turned into a series and I was completely captivated by that world.
After that novel changed my bookish life, I began reading more and more. It was amazing to look at the first page of a book with the same excitement as the opening credits of a film. So, the question you are probably asking right now is: What happened? Well, I am glad you asked. College made my leisure reading time extremely rare. Every time I was switching out a chilling spy novel for a pile of science journals. Now, don’t get me wrong, I loved my major. Biology is so interesting and constantly evolving moment to moment. But, suddenly all my reading time began to cater to academics.
So, that brings us to the here and now. After graduating and starting a new job position, I was trying to find a work-life balance. If I was going to find a balance, I had to start making time for myself. One day, when glancing at self-care activities to practice, I saw reading was one of them. This realization was happening right around the premiere of the Netflix original “Shadow and Bone” tv show. My sister and I loved the show and immediately researched where the storytelling came from. And, you guessed it. It came from a book trilogy. I quickly read “Shadow and Bone” by Leigh Bardugo right after my sister. This story was so magical, enchanting and creative. It reminded me why I loved reading. Soon after, I read the rest of the trilogy and started looking up more novels to read. The most recent book I read made its way into my top five of all time. It is called “The Beautiful Ones” by Silvia Moreno Garcia.
The book is centered around the late 19th century where Nina is trying to find a suitor during the Grand Season in Loisail. While Nina is on the search for her future spouse, she is also becoming accustomed to her telekinetic powers. When Nina bumps into a man named Hector, with the same type of powers, she thinks she might have found her match. Even though her love story has just begun, Hector has a past that will turn their world upside down. It is soooo good. It is incredible. The writing is imaginative, humorous, true and honest. I highly recommend this book for anyone that is a Jane Austen fan and loves lots and lots of drama.
Even though I was enamored by these stories, I found that reading has many more benefits for our mental and physical health. Reading could help lower our stress levels. The overaccumulation of stress could take a toll on our bodies, especially the cardiovascular system. By setting aside at least a half an hour of reading time, it could help regulate our “blood pressure [and] heart rates” (Stanborough 2019). Also, reading a “print book” at night could help you to refrain from “reading on a screen”. The blue light from your phone or tablet could interfere with your circadian rhythms (Stanborough 2019). So, you can let a novel, magazine, comic book, etc. take you on a journey to relaxation for the mind and body.
I hope this encourages you to find something that you love to read. Something that can allow you to relax and take a tranquil escape. Because we all deserve to step into a world surrounded by words to inspire and motivate us.
Please feel free to share in the comments what you are reading or what you would like to read soon
Happy Reading! 📚
References
Stanborough, R. J. (2019, October 15). Benefits of reading books: For your physical and mental health. Healthline. Retrieved February 23, 2023, from https://www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-reading-books#builds-vocabulary