To Read is to Gain Perspective

A continuation of one of my earlier blog posts, I talked about how reading is for everyone you just have to find the right book. Recently I had a conversation about it with one of my friends and it had confirmed what I had said. My friend is not an avid reader, but does get completely invested when a good book does come along. I on the other hand, absolutely love reading. A few points that were made are that books are versatile; you can't just see them in one way, next books are an art form and may be interpreted as we wish, and lastly, that books have endless lessons to offer about life. A big theme we noticed was perspective. There is no right perspective when it comes to a book, we may see it as one way, and the person next to us may see it another way. Books offer us perspectives of all sorts. Perspective of the narrator, of the author, of life, and so on. This rings true for all books. I can thank books for a lot of the way I see the world because so often we get caught up in just the way we see things, and we're so influenced by what's around us, so we don't get a lot of big differences. Books offer that variety and culture that we otherwise wouldn't get. Another way that books offer perspective is if they have a complex character. We don't have to necessarily go through the situation, live the same life, or even be in the same circumstances to relate to a character. We just have to resonate with a character and there you build that connection with the book. This is so vital for the basis of enjoying books. Reading has to be a good experience for someone in order for them to enjoy it and when you can relate to one aspect of the book, you've established something that will pull you to read. Next time you go to the book store and skim through a book, try picking the one where you can see yourself in the character; it may become your favorite book.