5 Reasons You Need to Put Down Your Phone And Start Reading

I’m one of those girls that can and will fall in love with fictional characters. I literally have a list on my phone full of fictional relationships that I want to find in real life. The list currently starts with Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice and ends with Augustus Waters from The Fault in Our Stars. I know, super cliché, but I can’t help it; I love them.

But really, I love their books. I have them sitting on my bookshelf along with about twenty of my other favorite books. Nowadays I feel like we are moving farther and farther away from books and I wholeheartedly believe we need to find our way back.

1. Reading makes you smarter and less awkward. The simple act of reading will allow you to be more prepared for social situations that could possibly occur. Meaning, the next time you run into last semester’s fling in the library, you’ll have a better idea of how not to be a total awkward mess because that already happened to Kate from that one book you read last summer.

2. Because no one should stare at a screen all day. This is personally why I hate Kindles and Nooks. I’m all for saving the trees by not using paper, but I have to say there’s nothing like pride fully admiring your bookshelf full of all your favorites, each holding a special piece of your heart.

3. So you can tell your story better. It might just be me, but I tend to learn by example, meaning that reading about others’ lives helps me figure out what the crap is happening with mine. I’m also told it helps you develop a better vocabulary so that’s probably a plus too. Who doesn’t want to sound smarter?

4. Literature teaches empathy simply because it allows you to see into others’ heads and understand their feelings. Empathy leads to more open-minded people and acceptance of others and who doesn’t want that?

5. Hot guys read books. There is a whole Instagram for it. And let me tell you, it’s amazing.

Believe me, I understand that simply watching a movie is a lot easier and a whole lot less time-consuming than reading the whole book, but there’s so much even your favorite films lack the ability to portray. I’m probably going to end up being that crazy old cat lady who sits in her house surrounded by fur balls and books but, hey there are worse things to be, right?

Featured image via Keira Burton on Pexels