An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behavior.
No, This is not a write-up about behavioral psychology. Nor that is a quote written by me. That’s an amazing quote by Viktor Frankl. Forgive me for using this deep quote to clickbait you into reading this article but that’s how my journey with books started. The abnormal situation is the pandemic we are still experiencing. My abnormal reaction to that was to pick a book.
Who reads anything these days?
I was that stubborn, ignorant sort who made arguments like,
“Books are not for me”
“I do not have the patience”
“Well, instead of wasting time reading books, I will wait for the movie adaptation, which is far more interesting and time-saving “
As if I was using all my time productively. The traditional defense by the human beings around me was “You’re missing out on a lot of details in a fiction” or “ Experiencing a book is far better than any movies/series adaptation ever”, all that went over my primitive brain. I failed to realize these truths until I read the Harry Potter series. I was blown away by the number of details and emotions that I never noticed in the film version. Missing the wild ride during the book’s release is a deep disappointment. But Hey.. Better late than never. I learned some strange things during my tussle with books.
Start reading what you like
Don’t read what the world wants you to read. Read books that are intriguing to you. It can be Sachin’s biography for a cricket fanatic, Harry potter for the ‘inner kid who dreamed’, or if you’re me then some random economics book like Poor economics. Anything you enjoy is the best place to awaken the reader in you. If you don’t have any idea about books, pick a biography about your hero. You’ll enjoy their struggles to the top, and also understand the fact that they were mere humans who became immortals through those breathtaking moments in life.
Some narratives can never be made into a movie
“In 2012 about 56 million people died throughout the world; 620,000 of them died due to human violence (war killed 120,000 people, and crime killed another 500,000). In contrast, 800,000 committed suicide, and 1.5 million died of diabetes. Sugar is now more dangerous than gunpowder.”
“Each year the US population spends more money on diets than the amount needed to feed all the hungry people in the rest of the world.”
“There is poetic justice in the fact that a quarter of the world, and two of its seven continents, are named after a little-known Italian whose sole claim to fame is that he had the courage to say, We don’t know.”
You will never know these facts until you read Sapiens. This is just an example. Non-fiction books are an excellent way to keep widening your senses and you can only get better with time. Imagine an author spending his best years researching to present you with the most significant 300 pages of their life. You get a free pass to speak with the greatest minds ever existed. How can you miss that?
Books solve problems
Books solve problems. In better words, Books help you to solve your own problems. There is an uncommon satisfaction in solving our own problems. That’s a human thing right?. When we face a problem or a crisis, we instantly wish if someone could sort this out for us. Eventually, when we arrive at the fix on our own, there’s a sense of pride and gratification. Books can be your friend during such situations.
- You don’t know about investing? there’s a book for that.
- You don’t know how to design your web application? there’s a book for that.
- You want to know more about raising your kids? there’s a book for that.
- You want to know how to read a book? There are tons of books for that.
Books have been a life-saver for me in this aspect. They also help us to uncover some common misconceptions.
How many of us knew math could be interesting
Certain books cannot be simply classified as non-fiction and fiction. Because they are non-fictional facts woven together as a single, fluid story. The best book I can mention is Infinity powers, which tells us the story of calculus. Every one of us would have wondered why am I even learning this advanced maths when I am never going to apply this in my life. But this book completely shatters that idea and makes a sound argument about the omnipresence of math around you. To cite the book
Without calculus, we wouldn’t have cell phones, computers, or microwave ovens. We wouldn’t have radio. Or television. Or ultrasound for expectant mothers, or GPS for lost travelers. We wouldn’t have split the atom, unraveled the human genome, or put astronauts on the moon. We might not even have the Declaration of Independence.
There’s another book called Prisoners of Geography, which explains the dynamics of global politics, through the eyes of geography. China and India, The two most populous countries with conflicting cultures has only fought one war in 1962 in several centuries. Why? Because between them is the biggest mountain range in the world. I can add some more examples, but you get the point. Basic high school subjects can be still a fun way of understanding the world better.
Fiction has its own niceties
Snow is an alien thing for the folks from the Indian subcontinent. Even though I have never physically felt snow, it’s strange how my mind understands the feeling of snow. That’s the power of fiction.
A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.
― George R.R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons
One of the best things that I understood via fiction was to stop judging people. Fiction expands your worldview and you really come to terms with the fact that you never know what the other person is going through. Some mystery novel teaches you that there are always two sides to a story. Once you dive into books, You start appreciating the grey area than the conventional black & white.
Final thoughts
Sparing a few minutes a day to read some pages will light up the dormant grey matter in your brain to discover more facets of yourself. While the pandemic has turned millions of lives upside down, the fortunate bunch who can afford to read this should start appreciating their good fortune. Books enable us to empathize more, stop fussing about worthless stuff and clear our heads to embark on this mysterious journey of life.
