As a lifelong reader with a BA in English Lit, I think it’s safe to say I’m a bookworm. I’ve always been attracted more to the arts than to the sciences, but that’s changing since I’ve been reading T-Mag.
Through the vicissitudes of my life reading (and training since I started) has always been a constant for me. No matter how down I’ve been, reading has always been a source of inspiration and the path to greater self-knowledge and self-growth.
Aside from majoring in English, I took elective courses in philosophy, classics, history and religion during my pursuit of higher education.
These subjects, and the many others I explored before and have tackled since obtaining my degree, have opened new vistas for me, expanded my horizons, and generally made me a more interesting person.
Reading has also exposed me to many different points of view and helped sharpen my critical-thinking abilities.
It’s taught me to think better. I’ve seen many a young in with technical knowledge, but lacking the ability to tie it together. Maybe a better way to say it is that they can’t see common threads.
Reading has certainly expanded my views beyond the narrow range I grew up with.
Ideas, people, events, places that I did not understand or value have been explained to me in a manner that even my feeble mind has been able to grasp.
Moments in time that would be impossible for me to experience have been made available for my enjoyment and horror.
Nothing like reading about life on the Eastern Front in WWII to put your day-to-day problems in perspective.
Reading has made me what I am today. 15 years ago, I was a totally different person, and I attribute most of that to the people I’ve hung around, and the books I’ve read.
It doesn’t help me at those damn restaurants that try to be cute and rename their restrooms. Like naming their men’s room “Partna’s” and their women’s room “Missus”. That’s just stupid.
I agree with Jared. What’s up with restaurants and cafes usin’ what they think are cute and witty signs for the restrooms?
I sometimes spend another 5-minutes trying to figure out which one is which. Dammit.
Oh…and to not entirely hijack this thread. What has reading done for me? I’ve become a more knowledgable and witty smartass. Yes. That’s it. That and I read more comic books now than full books. And I still read childrens books. Seriously.
“To read is to empower
To empower is to write
To write is to influence
To Influence is to change
To change is to live.”
– Jane Evershed, “More than a Tea Party”
Patricia: If you’re going to be a smartass, it’s best to be a knowledgeable one.
Actually, I have read some comics as well. Although at that time I thought comics were for kids, quite a few years ago a comic-book-freak friend of mine lent me a lot of his comics in an attempt to try and change my perceptions of the genre. He lent me Swamp Thing, Hellraiser and Sandman to name a few.
Sandman blew me away. Gaiman’s writing and his knowledge of mythology are top-notch. I liked just about everything else he loaned me as well. That experience changed my perception of comic books forever.
This is another example of how reading has helped expand my horizons.
I read all the time but have never read an entire book. Hell, i’ve never even finished a chapter of a book. I’m perfectly content with reading magazines and things online instead of books.
Reading has tought me how to pick up chicks online, let me explain. If i could not read then how could i go into the adult chatrooms, pick up older women and have cyber sex. See people reading is beneficial. It helps me get laid, sort of.
