Ah yes, it’s me again, trying to get you to pick up a book once more. But I have another stance this time! While I have always thought that reading was cool, I remember growing up learning that reading was simply another way to get attention. Whether that be reading in public, checking out a library book or even saying you like to read. While I do get the fun, let’s remember not to truly allow that harmless joke to affect your own hobbies.
I have seen some online chatter that reading is cool again! Thank God. Seriously! I am so grateful for the representation of book-girls once again on my For You page. Of course, I understand not everyone enjoys reading, and I am not one to force enjoyment, but if you have been putting off reading for a while, now is your time.
I also want to encourage you to read whatever it is that you enjoy. Sometimes a short, quirky, cringey romance is something you need to begin your journey, or even to just get out of your slump. Reading is simply something else to do with your time besides scrolling on your phone. Which, I think, everyone wants to do less of nowadays. I am encouraging you to ignore the part of you that thinks reading is lame, and to pick up a book. It might change your life!
I also think it is important to note that as the constant usage of AI grows, you will get more and more used to not thinking on your own. It will be harder for you to write your own sentences, form your own ideas, and even think for yourself. Relying heavily on AI to create your thoughts, or communicating constantly with AI instead of a human, just truly dims your light! Off topic- so sorry. But reading encourages your brain to think for itself, imagine the characters, and challenge you in reading comprehension with each page, no matter how unadvanced you believe the book is.
For example, my current reading fixation has been the Bridgerton series. My roommate and I went to Pittsburgh recently and stumbled upon Half-Price Books, and did quite some damage. I scored three books from the Bridgerton series and have yet to put them down since. Now, my point in sharing that is, yes, while it might look silly that I am reading a Bridgerton book to outsiders, boy, are these books entertaining. I also think I gave myself some brownie points because of the period dialogue. But anyway, I am also feeding my brain with something other than my phone!
Social media nowadays has a way of ruining good things, like claiming anyone reading a book is performative. Conforming to every single opinion that is trending online is not cool, as in, you are not being performative by simply reading a book. My purpose in writing this article is to remind you that reading is cool, and if it is not cool currently, you can help me bring it back! It is cool to have hobbies, to feed your mind, to not scroll all the time, to read! All the cool girls are reading; haven’t you heard?