Watching a TV show on Netflix can be a fun and easy way to relax and be entertained, however, reading a book can throw you into a whole different universe with the magic of words as you turn the crisp pages to satisfy your wonder of what will happen next. I love watching TV as much as the next person, but there is just something enchanting about curling up in your favorite armchair, opening the cover of a book, and escaping into a different world, where a vast amount of possibilities and adventures await you. Reading can also be advantageous for your intellectual and mental development. According to an article by BuzzFeed Staff writer Erin La Rosa, “people who read are more likely to vote, exercise, and be more cultural. A study by the National Endowment for the Arts found that people who regularly read are much more likely to be engaged civically and culturally… fiction books increase your ability to empathize with others. A study done out of the University of Buffalo proved that even though fiction is about an imaginary world, through reading you’re able to conceive of other possibilities, and a life beyond your own insular one.”
So maybe it’s time to glue your eyes on a page instead of a screen, and if you’ve loved these popular TV shows, then you’ll be sure to love these reads.
If you loved “House of Cards,” read “Richard III.” The malicious and blood thirsty for power character of Frank Underwood is loosely based off the tragic character of King Richard III in Shakespeare’s historical tragedy. For some reason, even though Kevin Spacey’s character is quite nefarious and manipulative, there is something bewitching about watching a power hungry politician writhe and deceive his way to power. Shakespeare’s character is very similar, and he even starts out the play with Richard standing alone divulging his monologue of how he’s going to ascend to the thrown. So if you love watching the dramatic power and greed of one politician, then you’ll be sure to enjoy reading about the same taste of power and greed of a monarch.
If you loved “CSI,” read “Phryne Fisher’s Murder Mysteries.” Of course there are many different vignettes of this show including “CSI Miami,” and “CSI New York,” but if you love watching detective work and guessing on each show who the culprit was, then you’ll enjoy reading this fun book series that takes place in Australia in the ‘roaring twenties’. The character of Phryne is probably the most stylish and party loving detectives around, and follows around Detective Inspector Jack Robinson – much to his annoyance – to help solve mysterious crimes. Chalk full of intriguing and strange crimes, these books also shows what it was like to live in the revolutionary and stylish times of the 1920’s. So even if your not that excited about murder mysteries, then you can at least appreciate the fun and historic context of the series.
If you loved “Doctor Who,” read “A Wrinkle in Time.” If you love the famous BBC show of a doctor traveling throughout time and encountering eccentric situations and beings, then you’ll like this fun novel about a teenage girl who travels through time alongside her brother whom are on a mission to rescue their scientist father. Even if you aren’t a fan of “Doctor Who” but are still a fan of science fiction, then this novel is definitely on the fantasy/science fiction genre. It also explores many morals, such as the concept of, “how far you would go to save a family member”. “Doctor Who” may be more comedic and silly, but “A Wrinkle in Time” makes you think about the bigger and more mysterious questions of life.
If you loved “Game of Thrones,” then read “Lord of the Rings.” The HBO show “Game of Thrones” is indeed based of the book series with the same title, however, if you’ve finished all the series both on TV and on page, then you might also like this age-old classic written by the esteemed English professor J.R.R. Tolkien. Similar to “Game of Thrones”, “Lord of the Rings” is based in a mythical pre-medieval European like world, where all sorts of creatures flourish, and where the battle of good versus evil is quite pertinent. These books may be a bit lengthy, but it is amazing how much work and time Tolkien has put into this epic story; all the characters and places have such a rich history and culture that it almost seems like elves and dwarfs could of really existed.