A Book Is A Universe To Be Discovered

A book is a means by which we can reach places that we did not even know. It gives us the opportunity to meet people, get to know other perspectives and visit other worlds. It is one of the best gifts for anyone who knows how to appreciate it and also the best companion in any circumstances.

Reading is a door that opens onto an infinite number of possibilities: magical universes, stories of the past, futuristic visions. It is the key that opens the lock of uncertainty, the inspiration that hits us strongly, a powerful creator of emotions that, page after page, reminds us that we are alive.

Immersing yourself in an ocean of words is an experience that rarely leaves us indifferent. A book moves us, surprises us, makes us reflect and, at times, changes our lives.

-Charles William Eliot-

Reading a book is creating, building and understanding

A book feeds us, questions us, offers us other perspectives. Reading enriches us, especially if we abandon ourselves to it with all our senses. Connecting with what the author has created on each page is not the same as reading quickly and with distraction.

Entering the minds of the characters, imagining the context in which the events narrated occur, reflecting on the dialogues, deepening the theories or concepts exposed… Reading really implies all this and more.

Reading is creating, imagining, understanding, empathizing, but above all building. It is a dialectical process between the author and the reader, a conversation in which one gives and the other receives, the latter becoming the “manager” of the book.

As the psychologists Paul Watzlawick and Marcelo Ceberio affirm, the reading and the reflections that follow are structured as a process of co-construction between the author and the reader. A book is a work of art in which both participants (writer and reader) get to know each other with the aim of building a product together, which is nothing more than a message of values.

The psychological benefits of reading

Reading is a pleasure, an open door to learning. It seduces and excites us, enriches us and nourishes our intellect. In addition, it strengthens various mental processes such as memory, reasoning, perception and has the ability to “open our eyes”.

Psychologist Ignacio Morgado, director of the Neuroscience Institute of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, ​​says that when we read certain areas of the brain are activated. For example, to recognize the meaning of words, the occipital and temporal lobes are activated. When you interpret what you read and memories come to mind, the hippocampus and temporal lobe are activated.

Reading sentimental texts, regardless of whether they are real or fictional facts, stimulates the amygdala and other areas related to emotions. Finally, when you think about what you have read, the prefrontal cortex and working memory are activated.

According to a University of Toronto study published in Trends in Cognitive Science , reading novels improves empathy and other skills. This literary genre provokes in the mind of the reader a simulation of different situations that allows a better understanding of social relations.

But there is so much more. According to a study conducted by The Sleep Council, reading half an hour or an hour before falling asleep reduces stress significantly. Reading can reduce everyday worries by providing a comfortable retreat for readers.

Another advantage is to improve our vocabulary, especially if we differentiate between literary genres. By establishing connections between spoken and written words, we enrich our vocabulary and indirectly improve our spelling.

We cannot fail to remind you that reading also improves creativity, imagination and has positive effects on our emotional sphere. As you have been able to “read”, in addition to fun and entertainment, a book brings many other benefits.

A book is a silent companion with whom, in a moment of our life, we build a bond that, in one way or another, transforms us. Reading offers us a refuge, transports us to other worlds and opens our minds. Gandhi argued that if you don’t read nothing happens, but if you read, many things can happen. Reading allows us to continuously learn new things, it is the springboard that pushes us to know other points of view.