Let me start by saying this. I am a journalism major with a minor in English. I love to write but more so love to read. The bias here towards literature is undeniable.

My whole life, all 22 years of it, there has always seemed to be this negative stigma around reading from people in my age group. I have heard things such as, “It’s boring” and “it’s not fun.” I am just here to say that those points just are not valid. I like to equate reading and watching TV like this. Watching TV is like a sprint, it is fast and does not take very long. But reading is much more like a marathon. It takes a long time to get to the finish line but once you get there, you will feel so accomplished. You just must be willing to be patient. Sometimes it is worth the journey.

Everyone has their go to shows, the shows that you can watch for hours on end. It is easy to get wrapped up in it, letting our mind just wander aimlessly watching a show even though we already know how the story is going to end. I am guilty of it as well. I will admit, I have seen every episode of New Girl at least ten times and do not even get me started on Criminal Minds. Before you know it, you have watched a whole season of a show. After a great binge-watching session, some people, if not a majority, will feel at least somewhat guilty. They may ask themselves, “how else could I have spent my time?”. You know what you will not ever feel guilty after doing? Reading a really good book.

            The possibilities that come with reading are limitless. You can find books about legitimately anything and everything. A book can take you back in time or send you to the future.  In a matter of pages, you can be taken anywhere. You are quite literally creating a world in your head. And the beautiful part is that you can interpret it however you would like. No two people may picture the same thing in their head when they read something. The sheer number of stories that are accessible through reading is amazing. According to the Atlantic, there are currently 129,864,880 books in the world. There must be at least one or two that everyone can find joy in. There are books out there for anyone. If you have any sort of interest in anything, there is a book about that thing. Fiction to nonfiction or cooking to designing. Any interest that you may have will fall onto the spectrum of reading somewhere.

            Many people look to movies and tv shows to find comfort. I promise, the same comforts can be found in books. The feeling that you get when you finally finish a book, good or bad, is extremely rewarding. When you look at the times we live in right now, we spend most of our time looking at screens. Why not change it up a little and read some words instead? There is an endless number of movies to watch, but I promise you there is an endless number of books as well. And 100 percent of the time, the book is better than the movie anyway. Go turn the tv off and pick up a book, I promise you will not regret it. Your favorite author is out there, you just have not found them yet.
            Let me help you start your literature journey. These are a few of my favorites.

  • Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
  • The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom
  • The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho