LilBambi 3,279 Posted January 15, 2014 7 Unconventional Reasons Why You Absolutely Should Be Reading Books - HuffPost In a world of omnipresent screens, it can be easy to forget the simple pleasure of curling up with a good book. In fact, a recent HuffPost/YouGov poll of 1,000 U.S. adults found that 28 percent hadn't read one at all in the past year. But the truth is that reading books can be more than entertainment (or a high school English assignment). A study released earlier this month suggests that enjoying literature might help strengthen your "mind-reading" abilities. The research,published in the journal Science, showed that reading literary works (though, interestingly, not popular fiction) cultivates a skill known as "theory of mind," whichNPR describes as the "ability to 'read' the thoughts and feelings of others." And that's hardly the only way being a bookworm can boost your mind and well-being. Below, six more science-backed reasons to swap the remote for a novel. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
V.T. Eric Layton 6,098 Posted January 15, 2014 Between each day's new NSA revelations and issues keeping my computers running, I'm about ready to just give it all up and go back to the simpler pre-Internet days of computer-free living. That'll give me a lot more time to read. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LilBambi 3,279 Posted January 15, 2014 I don't think I would want to go that far. I want to be able to have access to it all! I would not want to go totally back to pre-Internet times, just as I wouldn't want to go back to pre-indoor plumbing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
V.T. Eric Layton 6,098 Posted January 15, 2014 I've thought about it at times. I believe I could manage just fine without a computer or the Internet. I'll stick around for a while longer, though. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sunrat 1,984 Posted January 15, 2014 Reading a book is good to reduce stress/anxiety level. I highly recommend "Lost Horizon", by James Hilton or "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho. From http://www.harpercol...n=9780061122415 Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of its readers forever. The Alchemist is such a book. It certainly touched me. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
V.T. Eric Layton 6,098 Posted January 15, 2014 +1 for Lost Horizon. http://tuppence-times.tumblr.com/post/37508075113/lost-horizon-by-james-hilton 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LilBambi 3,279 Posted January 16, 2014 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and Lost Horizon by James Hilton are on my reading list. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
abarbarian 3,084 Posted January 16, 2014 I'm halfway through this at the moment. And the Mountains Echoed is the third novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. It is a very engrossing read. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
V.T. Eric Layton 6,098 Posted January 16, 2014 Hmm... may have to have a looksee at that Alchemist fellow. OK... just put it on a hold at my local library. I'm 3rd on the list with 3 available copies in the system; shouldn't have to wait too long. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sunrat 1,984 Posted January 18, 2014 I'm halfway through this at the moment. And the Mountains Echoed is the third novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. It is a very engrossing read. Might have to read that one. His first novel, The Kite Runner was excellent; the movie was OK too. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Webb 423 Posted January 18, 2014 Just take a year off and read some novels written by the greatest English novelist ever. Pickwick Papers Oliver Twist Nicholas Nickleby David Copperfield Bleak House Hard Times A Tale of Two Cities — my personal favorite as the greatest novel ever written Great Expectations 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
V.T. Eric Layton 6,098 Posted January 19, 2014 Just take a year off and read some novels written by the greatest English novelist ever. Pickwick Papers Oliver Twist Nicholas Nickleby David Copperfield Bleak House Hard Times A Tale of Two Cities — my personal favorite as the greatest novel ever written Great Expectations I've read them all... and occasionally read them again from time to time. Greatest English novelist? Myeh... matter of opinion. Great, yes. Greatest, I dunno' about that. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sunrat 1,984 Posted January 19, 2014 Speaking of books, anyone want to buy a $23,698,655.93 book about flies? http://www.michaeleisen.org/blog/?p=358 Also Money for nothing Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
V.T. Eric Layton 6,098 Posted January 19, 2014 I can get it used for $35. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Temmu 1,929 Posted January 20, 2014 the difference between books (not public school texts) and the internet is: books have editors and sources cited. the vast majority of what is on the internet is worse than useless. anyone can write anything (wikipedia, for example) and people gobble it up believing it to be factual, truth. encyclopedias are no longer published, er, printed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
V.T. Eric Layton 6,098 Posted January 20, 2014 I saw it on the Internet. It's gotta' be true! Americans are so gullible. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sunrat 1,984 Posted January 21, 2014 I saw it on the Internet. It's gotta' be true! "You can never be sure if quotes on the internet are genuine." - Benjamin Franklin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
V.T. Eric Layton 6,098 Posted January 21, 2014 To hack or not to hack that is the dns query. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
amenditman 891 Posted January 21, 2014 Just take a year off and read some novels written by the greatest English novelist ever. Pickwick Papers Oliver Twist Nicholas Nickleby David Copperfield Bleak House Hard Times A Tale of Two Cities — my personal favorite as the greatest novel ever written Great Expectations I liked all of those, but I would need a lot more than a year off to read them all in succession. Don't think that I could stomach that much Dickens in one marathon read. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
V.T. Eric Layton 6,098 Posted January 21, 2014 No. Reading any author one after another is actually a negative reading experience for me. The author's habits and idiosyncrasies that are entertaining in one book become boring, expected drudgery when you read many consecutive books by an author in a short time period. I can do two max. After that, I have to take a break and read something from someone else. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Webb 423 Posted January 21, 2014 You could alternate reading a Dickens novel, then a Vonnegut novel, then a Dickens novel, then a Vonnegut novel ... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
amenditman 891 Posted January 21, 2014 You could alternate reading a Dickens novel, then a Vonnegut novel, then a Dickens novel, then a Vonnegut novel ... Kill me now! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Webb 423 Posted January 21, 2014 OK, throw in a Clancy novel every now and then. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
amenditman 891 Posted January 21, 2014 OK, throw in a Clancy novel every now and then. From bad to worse!Give me some Asimov, just not the entire Foundation series all at once. Give me some classic A. C. Clarke, HAL, for the love of God. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
V.T. Eric Layton 6,098 Posted January 21, 2014 I have alternated Dickens and his friend Wilkie Collins before. That was interesting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Temmu 1,929 Posted January 21, 2014 amenditman, i resemble that! i read the entire foundation series... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rolanaj 114 Posted January 21, 2014 I wouldn't want to read a lot of Dickens stuff together but actually did read the Foundation series all together. I sometimes binge on authors. Might have started when I would borrow books from my grandmother, she always put them in sets of 6-8 covered in plastic so I would borrow them like that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
abarbarian 3,084 Posted January 21, 2014 You could alternate reading a Dickens novel, then a Vonnegut novel, then a Dickens novel, then a Vonnegut novel ... Now your cooking with gas. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LilBambi 3,279 Posted January 21, 2014 I love all the books that abarbarian disliked! As well as those he liked....I just have a passion for books and reading! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LilBambi 3,279 Posted January 21, 2014 I wouldn't want to read a lot of Dickens stuff together but actually did read the Foundation series all together. I sometimes binge on authors. Might have started when I would borrow books from my grandmother, she always put them in sets of 6-8 covered in plastic so I would borrow them like that. Me too! I have read the Robot Novels so many times! They are like old friends! And the rest of the Foundation Series a few times over the years. I love them! But I really do binge at times on authors and I have so many authors I love! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
