It's World Book Day and i have seen several Harry Potters, a few Alice in Wonderlands and even a couple of Wally's from 'Where's Wally' walking to and from their schools today.
I have always been an avid reader and have not one bookshelf but two and always mean to get around to donating books to charity shops but just can't seem to part with them.
I have the 'Go Set a Watchman' book ready to read but was putting that off to the Summer as it somehow seems a book to read outside in summer sunshine, not sure why but probably because it is set in the American South which seems to be a bit of a sweat box.
Despite all the other distractions, reading remains a popular pastime but apart from improves our literacy, it also offers other benefits.
Some of the most inspirational characters and heroes come from the pages of books as well as helping us to develop our beliefs such as the racial injustice in 'To Kill a Mockingbird' or the political struggle in 'The Ragged Trousered Philantropists' which expose us to situations that help develop our own point of view Health benefits include mental stimulation that can delay the onset of dementia as reading keeps the brain active, using our imaginations to build a world from the text in a book.
Books are also a wonderful source of broadening our knowledge even if we don't realise it so reading Pride and Prejudice is not only a great story but gives us a peek at what life was like in early 19th Century Britain.
Something i will advise though is don't watch a film adapted from a novel before reading the book, i did that with Blade Runner based on 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep' and it was years until i bothered to pick up the novel only to find it was almost nothing like the film and i had denied myself a great read for over a decade.
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