Interesting viewpoint; It's essential to sometimes think out of the box and go overboard with creativity! Thank you for commenting!

Good point! There needs to be fun in a balanced life, after all! Not too much of it and not too little! Thank you for commenting!

That's dope! Missed that one haha, thanks for commenting!

Oh my god, thanks for telling me an author whose books aren't that hard to read, I would've had to look through all those books just to find the author that was not too hard to read lol. Appreciate it! And thanks for putting the time in on commenting!

Someone also mentioned that reading fiction will improve your emotional intelligence, and I'd have to second that! Thanks for your comment, a great point I missed out on haha!

In that case I would really recommend Brandon Sanderson. His books r great and his writing isn't all lofty, easy to understand

I want to read in English though. Not only is it better in the language it's written it, but also I want to improve my English too I guess

Reading is absolutely one of the best ways to improve your vocabulary and grammar! And as a person who is still learning English, I guess reading English books can definitely help with that!

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Also good point about reading being able to teach about other people's experiences. Thinking about it now, characters in fiction are also an interesting aspect of it! You can definitely learn stuff about the characters only, for instance as you mentioned empathy and compassion. Fair!

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Thanks for commenting

I wish the title wasn't so unbelievably bad, I've avoided it out of spite

I think even if a story doesn’t teach you anything else, it still teaches you empathy. Even sci fi and fantasy can teach you about the world around you, and the people in it. By far my favorite part of reading is finding out about different ways of life, whether real or imagined, & all they entail.

Obviously there is also the way reading teaches you about storytelling, structure, grammar, vocab etc but I find that depends on how well you retain knowledge. As i get older I find its harder for me retain things lol. But i used to learn so much from books growing up and i think it really taught me some emotional intelligence.

Everyone he listed is a pretty popular author, so a lot of them will have translations into other languages

That's an interesting perspective!

It makes sense! Sometimes you just have to go overboard and think further than just what there is in the picture! Great analogy! And thanks for commenting!

I agree with this. I still thought the book was worthwhile, especially in its blunt honesty about the burgeoning sexuality of a young gay man. But Vuong is a poet, and you could tell that this book was written by a poet. That’s not a good thing. One shouldn’t approach the writing of a novel as if it were a long prose poem. Every other aspect of this novel suffered for Vuong’s focus on the prose, and as you pointed out, some of the lines he came up with are immature and cringeworthy. Some of those lines might work in a poem, but are glaringly misplaced in a work of narrative prose

A lot of people I’ve talked to say that the beneficial part of traditional reading over other forms of media specifically is that you use more of your mind in that you have to interpret the symbols on the page, determine their meaning, and then connect them to form a mental image of the scene rather than just looking at the scene on a TV or comic. In this way, reading a books of any kind with complex ideas and scenery is beneficial; no matter it’s context or genre. Basically, the further from solely written words you get, the less your mind has to do to interpret the story, meaning your mind can be less active.

Well, not very verbose haha! But I get your point eitherway, thanks for commenting!

Yep, every book. Because reading is awesome and doing awesome things makes your life not suck. Pretty self explanatory.

This is not my list but I feel it fits the question well.

1. Reading Exercises the Brain

While reading, we have to remember different characters and settings that belong to a given story. Even if you enjoy reading a book in one sitting, you have to remember the details throughout the time you take to read the book. Therefore, reading is a workout for your brain that improves memory function.

2. Reading is a Form of (free) Entertainment

Did you know that most of the popular TV shows and movies are based on books? So why not indulge in the original form of entertainment by immersing yourself in reading. Most importantly, it’s free with your

Public Library card.

3. Reading Improves Concentration and the Ability to Focus

We can all agree that reading cannot happen without focus and in order to fully understand the story, we have to concentrate on each page that we read. In a world where gadgets are only getting faster and shortening our attention span, we need to constantly practice concentration and focus. Reading is one of the few activities that requires your undivided attention, therefore, improving your ability to concentrate.

4. Reading Improves Literacy

Have you ever read a book where you came across an unfamiliar word? Books have the power to improve your vocabulary by introducing you to new words. The more you read, the more your vocabulary grows, along with your ability to effectively communicate. Additionally, reading improves writing skills by helping the reader understand and learn different writing styles.

5. Reading Improves Sleep

By creating a bedtime routine that includes reading, you can signal to your body that it is time to sleep. Now, more than ever, we rely on increased screen time to get through the day. Therefore, by setting your phone aside and picking up a book, you are telling your brain that it is time to quiet down. Moreover, since reading helps you de-stress, doing so right before bed helps calm your mind and anxiety and improve the quality of sleep.

6. Reading Increases General Knowledge

Books are always filled with fun and interesting facts. Whether you read fiction or non-fictions, books have the ability to provide us with information we would’ve otherwise not known. Reading a variety of topics can make you a more knowledgeable person, in turn improving your conversation skills.

7. Reading is Motivational

By reading books about protagonists who have overcome challenges, we are oftentimes encouraged to do the same. The right book can motivate you to never give up and stay positive, regardless of whether it’s a romance novel or a self-help book.

8. Reading Reduces Stress

Reading has the power to transport you to another world and away from the monotonous daily routine. By doing so, reading can decrease stress, lower heart rate and reduce blood pressure.

9. Reading Sets a Positive Example

Reading is a key component of early literacy development and you can set an example of just how crucial this is by modeling the behaviour yourself. Children are excellent at mimicking the adults around them which means that if you regularly set aside some "me time" for reading, your children will learn to do the same.

10. Reading Teaches Empathy

Books allow us to experience realities outside of our lives. They teach us to relate to others by often putting us in the shoes of the narrator. This simple technique is called empathy. Empathy is defined as the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Reading builds on empathy by constantly presenting us with thoughts and scenarios outside of our perspective.

I have not. Tried getting into some Tolkien stuff (The Lord of The Rings specifically) and oh boy the grammar was hard for me as a person whose first language is not English.

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I've gotta check out the other authors you've mentioned however! I'll see if I can find one fit with my English level

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Thanks for responding!

Great quote!

Right! Helps you concentrate more and generally good for your brain.

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Thanks for your response!

Well non-fiction stories happen in the real world, and could even be potentially pragmatic.

But then, we also have educational books (not books on a subject necessarily) and self-help books, which are to some extent beneficial

>Also, I don't really understand why you would call out "web novels andcliche stuff" as being insufficient texts for any of this kind oflearning.

Mainly because they don't have rich grammar, a lot of them use machine translation, and *most* of the authors in the web novel area aren't essentially proficient in English, which is well... Not my thing.

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There might be great web novels out there, but from the ones I've read, they haven't captured my attention. But guess that's on my part :P

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Additionally, you mentioned an extremely important point of reading; Unless you read with the goal to improve, you won't improve. Couldn't have said it better myself! I can definitely see that! Valid point!

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Thank you for responding!

Simple answer: "spoiler culture" is a relatively recent phenomenon that people historically didn't give as much of a shit about as you do. Particularly with the kind of texts that are significant enough within the cultural/literary landscape to even warrant an introduction, the assumption is that your engagement with the book is being approached from an academic/analytical position. And you can't really do that, or set the stage for that, without talking about the book. If you're reading an introduction the assumption is that you're looking to engage with the text in a more robust way than simply trying to preserve the surprise of "what happens".

Honestly, that's right on and a very good point! I personally find myself watching YouTube videos for hours, learning scantily, and maybe not even learning anything at all! I presume books would be the best replacement for that as an entertainment at the minimum. I appreciate you spending the time on reading this post and responding!

In addition to literacy skills practice, I've seen some research suggesting fiction reading might also help with empathy, maybe prevent cognitive decline later in life, and reduce stress. I hedged a lot there because Psychology research can be hit or miss.

I'd also advocate for a slightly shifted perspective: compared to lots of other ways to spend your time for fun, especially tech, smart phone apps, etc, reading longer form content can help to build focus.

If you assume not all of your time is going to be used for bettering yourself, saving the world, exercising, getting a promotion, or solving world hunger, and that some of it might be used for less fruitful endeavors like, say scrolling Reddit...

The comparison starts to look a little better, surely? At least your building the mental skill of focusing on one person/idea/world for a prolonged period and engaging your mental faculties in a creative way.