PRAISE FOR READING

And here I am asking myself this rather ridiculous question, but which comes to my mind after having finished reading another book.
I said another book, because I read several of them, and this has been so for several years. I can even add: why do we read so much? What is the use of it for me?

Well, not everyone can read non-stop, but I'm talking about my case. There is also the fact that we read what we like. And in my case, I don't read anything technical, this subject doesn't interest me much.

I am interested in history, philosophy, humanism, biographies, life and understanding the world. So I devour several of these books and curiously I read several at the same time.

Now, my question in title makes me ask: what is the use of all this?
What am I going to do with all that I have just read? How will it make my life better? Will it make me a better person? How does this make me discover a better world?

I can certainly recognize several good reasons for this exercise to justify my willingness to read, but I still ask if these reasons are fundamentally valid. Yes, reading adds to our culture, to our knowledge, to our appreciation of so many things. And if we forget these factors, perhaps reading is a pastime, if not a pleasant escape.

But I believe that reading enriches us in many ways. It is about learning new knowledge, making us better speakers. As I write, I run the risk of finding a thousand and one solutions that would answer my title question and make it null and void. For I will prove that reading has a meaning and therefore serves a purpose.

I thought I read somewhere that nowadays the world reads less. There are less and less newspapers, but if technology brings the world reading via I-phone, I-pad and so on, the world will still read that way, won't it? Now, people will tell me that young people today are a bit lazier and that for them reading is a tedious exercise that they prefer to avoid.

Let's get back to my title.
Yes, I gather a lot of information by reading. I remember some of it and forget the rest. Yes, I spend many hours reading and in the end I hate to say has that time been wasted? Would it have been better spent doing something else? Yes, I got a little pleasure from reading, but will it really serve me?

There are indeed two types of reading: fiction and non-fiction. These two types are for two types of people. And I opt for the non-fiction because all the little stories of love, abracadabra adventures, policemen and detectives looking for the culprit of a crime or other, do not interest me much. I don't find any cultural enrichment there. For me, it is a waste of time, whereas for others, it is an escape, a search for sensations.

In conclusion, I believe that I will continue to read and recommend the books that I have found interesting. In fact, for several years now, I have recommended THE SOURCE by James Michener and everyone has loved this wonderful book.