I am pretty sure as soon as you open YouTube or any other platform filled with information, you come across headlines such as:
“Read More.”
“Why you should read more?”
“What I learned after reading 1 book a week.”
“Why reading more and more will make you successful?”
I cannot tell you how irritating I find such headlines. I am not against reading. To be honest I, myself is an avid reader. I love books. Literally, I just love books. Other than a paper and pen if there is something in this world (material) I cannot live without its none other than a book. I read every day. I have been reading everyday for the past one year (I believe I have missed approximately 20-25 days out of 365 days). Reading has become a part of my daily schedule. Just the way I don’t live my days without water I don’t let my days pass by without reading. It doesn’t matter how much time I give to reading as long as I am reading. Some days I read for an hour. Some days I read for 15 minutes.
Reading is very personal to me. I don’t read to impress others. I don’t even post anything on social media. I read because I love knowing about different things. I read because I am a very curious person. I read because it opens up my mind about variety of stuff. To put more simply, I read because I want to attain knowledge which I can then apply to attain wisdom.
It makes me sad how people are making a big deal out of reading books. They are putting blogs and videos on reading more and more or reading 1 book a week. I respect that they are promoting reading because it’s a habit worth cultivating. But now it seems like reading has become so over-hyped. We should read books for ourselves and not others. It is completely okay if you are unable to read a book in 7 days. It is also okay if you complete a book in 2 months as long as you’re finding it interesting enough to keep going. I don’t know how reading makes one successful because success is a very subjective concept. Success has a different definition for everyone. For some, a successful life comprises of good health- both physical & mental, a loving family and friends. For others success might mean driving luxurious cars and having multiple properties at different locations.
Reading books has become very convenient, cheaper and easily accessible. Unlike older times, we have multiple ways to gather information from books. Some people find audiobooks the best. While others prefer having a book in a physical format. It is a good thing that so many people are prioritising books in their lives. Because without a seed of doubt reading makes us better. However, it should be for genuine reasons. Do not read so that you can post about it on social media. Do not read just because everyone is reading. You should read so that you become a better version of yourself each day.