Listen, I get it. Nowadays, people aren’t reading as much as they used to. Why would we? Through the internet we have thousands of videos and games at our disposal, all just a click away. So why would we bother to read books? Sometimes even turning the page feels like more effort than scrolling through TikTok.
Still, there are so many great books out there waiting to be discovered by you. Maybe you have read multiple boring books- I have no doubt that in high school, deadlines were the only motivation you had when it came to finishing it. This time around you’ll have no school report to make - you can choose the length, genre, language, and author freely. With millions of books out there, there will surely be one perfect for you!
It is no secret that due to new inventions our attention span has become lower. If a TikTok or Instagram post doesn’t speak to us in the first few seconds, we’ll scroll to the next one and attempt to let our attention fall to the new video, only to scroll away before it is over, too.
A study has shown that people lose their attention after eight seconds (I am definitely guilty of that too. This article was not written without distractions!). But no worries, reading books can increase your focus! Once you get through the first few pages and you start to vibe with the story, there is a chance you could keep reading it for hours without even noticing it. Take that, decreasing attention span!
''Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body''
Joseph Addison
Traditional books - the ones you will often find in bookstores- are not the only option for you out there. On Reedsy, for example, you can find thousands of short stories published every week. But Reedy is not the only place. Fictionaut and Electric Literature are other great websites where you can read for free. So, if you feel like long books overwhelm you, you should definitely go check them out!
Alternatively, if you do decide that you prefer full-length books the Breda University of Applied sciences library in the horizon is a great place to go to, as you can find tons of books without spending a cent.
Audio books are another great tool to ‘read’ more books. You can already find quite a few of them on Spotify, but otherwise Audible or Storytell are great places to check out, even though they do require subscriptions.
In this stressful world we sometimes need to destress. Reading is helpful for that, too. Reading can help your mind wind down and it can have a positive effect on your mental health. It can even help you live longer. Pretty impressive for some ink printed out on paper, huh? Just 30 minutes of reading can lower your blood pressure, heart rate and feeling of distress. There is even a form of therapy which uses books: bibliotherapy!
But hey, if you still aren’t convinced by this article and you’d rather scroll through TikTok, you can always checkout #booktok!
