For You, Who Love Books

“ There are those who cannot imagine a world without birds; there are those who cannot imagine a world without water; as for me, I am unable to imagine a world without books “

(Jorge Luis Borges)

For you, who love books. .. That you immerse yourself in them as if you were diving into the sea, with the familiarity of arriving at a place you know, and at the same time, with the feeling of adventure and mystery of not knowing what will happen to continuation.

For you, who know the pleasure of taking refuge in a good book during rainy afternoons. That you get comfortable on the sofa and the hours fly by. That you do not understand that there are people who are bored, having so many stories to discover, so many lives to dream …

For you, who have lived thousands of lives, have known hundreds of worlds and have traveled in time. That you have been moved, you have laughed and you have cried through the written word. That you know human nature because you have put yourself in the shoes of countless characters.

Surely you remember books that have been a before and after in your life. The first stories that amazed you in childhood, the readings of adolescence that marked your character, the ones that you have already read in adulthood and have helped you overcome a bad moment.

It is very possible that you have your favorite moment: perhaps it is at night, in bed, just before sleeping, or you may prefer to take advantage of the time you spend in public transport, or that you read in the afternoons, in some quiet time rescued from daily obligations. Or that you save it for the weekend as a reward.

You know that reading can be an escape: you forget your problems and the little daily dramas, to enter a new world. It is a magical time in which negative thoughts do not flood you, a time free of stress and worries.

However, reading is much more than simple avoidance. Because it can help you to distance yourself, to learn, to think creatively or to strengthen you emotionally. In this way, reading can help us to solve our problems or, at least, to help us face them better.

Readers have known these benefits forever. But recently science has proved us right: did you know that reading reduces the risk of suffering from dementias? It seems that reading, especially fiction stories, improves our cognitive reserve and makes us reach old age in a much better state.

In addition, in different studies it has been proven that reading increases emotional intelligence and empathy, that wonderful human ability to put yourself in the place of the other and understand them. This was already guessed by the philosopher Schopenhauer when he stated that “ reading is thinking with someone else’s brain instead of with your own ”. Cognitive psychology and neuropsychology have confirmed his reflection.

These are the most important findings, because if you continue researching the subject, you will find more studies that tell us about improvements in concentration, memory, the ability to relate concepts and a long etcetera. Which shows that reading is never a waste of time: you always gain much more than you lose.

But let’s not kid ourselves: we don’t need to know those benefits or list those benefits to know what is best about reading. Reading is an unbeatable experience, a wonderful addiction without negative effects, and an absolute pleasure for those of us who no longer have a remedy.

For you, who recognize your addiction to reading and who have read this article with a knowing smile, because you know what I’m talking about. For you, like Borges, you cannot imagine a world without books. This article is for you, who love books.