“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies . . . The man who never reads lives only one.”
As the warm temperatures start to leave us for the winter, it’s the perfect time to put on some cozy slippers, have a cup of tea and curl up on the couch with a good book.
Reading is one of the best things you can do for your mental health, and research shows it also greatly improves vocabulary, spelling, and even memory. I know I never would have learned English if I hadn’t read so many books when I first moved to this country back in 1993. Back then, I didn’t care that I didn’t understand what I was reading, I read anyway and, to this day, there are some words I keep mispronouncing because I had only just read them.
To an American, it sounds like gibberish, but to me, it’s a real word. For example, the word badminton. I still always pronounce it as bad-min-gt-on, not bad-min-tn like my American peers do. Of course they laugh and make fun of me when they hear me say it, but that doesn’t bother me much for I know that my love of reading was what helped me learn another language and I can’t help but feel proud of that fact.
Reading books provided free entertainment back when I was a child — pre-internet and video game era — and it certainly reduced stress in the darkest hours of my life back when I was stuck in a country plagued by a war.
It’s easy to get caught up in the busyness of everyday life and forget to enjoy the little things. This month, pick up a few new books and make time to read them. It’s a great hobby to get into!
“Books are a uniquely portable magic.” ~Stephen King
“Ms. Jurich is a master story teller with a historically important background that must be read in its entirety to be appreciated – Don’t worry, once she’s introduced, you’ll hang on every word.” – iSTAR