Why Reading Is a Great Hobby (Plus 5 Cool Facts About Reading)

When you read for fun rather than as a necessity then reading is definitely classed as a hobby as it’s something you can do in your spare time for enjoyment. In fact, this is how we class all hobbies which means that reading is no different.

As an example, this would apply to someone buying and reading a dedicated book or someone searching for specific content that brings them joy upon reading, rather than those who are simply being forced to read i.e. being at school to study.

Reading is probably one of the oldest hobbies in the world and has been around since humankind could record events. Most commonly, we know reading as being written (or typed) words on a page, which for the sake of giving a timeline has been around since 3500 B.C.

Perhaps noteworthy as well, reading was not always done via perfectly formed pages or through an online medium.

The first instances of recorded events were often laid out on stone tablets or clay, and/or other novel forms of parchment that were useful to inscribe with detail.

Before the written word, this was done through pictures and physical illustrations rather than writing, which in comparison, is a modern advent compared to the former process.

The Evolution of The Book: A Video Worth Watching

Most reading has been done (and still is) through a physical book; you can find out more about the evolution of the book through this excellent informational video from TED:

5 Cool Facts About Reading And Why You Should Choose It As A Hobby

Reading is one of the most popular hobbies in the world due to the fact that it’s relatively inexpensive (or free) and can also be accessed without the need for electricity or power, unlike some other hobbies.

Here are some interesting facts about reading:

1. Reading has short-term and long-term effects on the brain

In a study produced by Brain Connect, it’s found that reading can literally change the way we think as it requires ongoing use of regions of the brain that are used for emotional, contextual, and cognitive processing.

This can lead to cognitive reorganization, or restructuring of the brain, which leaves lasting impressions on you from the moment you start reading.

Some major authors such as Stephen King and Joyce Carol Oates were noted to say how profoundly impacted they were after reading books they felt changed their lives.

2. Having a book collection is fun

Like many hobbies, seeing a collection built over time is a really great way to impress yourself, and can even impress others in your circle with how much you read or how dedicated you are to a specific series.

Books have usually been the original source of information for many movies such as Lord of the Rings, which in turn means you get access to all of the nitty-gritty special details that you may not get from watching the movie alone.

This gives you a greater connection to the character universe that the author probably intended rather than getting a washed-out version that has been dulled down for moviegoers.

As well as that, books often come with many different artistic designs which, not only are they beautiful to look at, but some are even so rare that they may be worth quite a lot of money further as a collectible item.

3. Helps you build your vocabulary

In a study produced by the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, they concluded that reading has a significant and notable impact on a person’s range of vocabulary, especially when exposed to it from a young age.

This is good news if you’ve been reading from an early age but it has also been shown to improve written and communication skills in general as it strengthens the connections in the brain that are required for processing that kind of information.

4. Reading is a cost-effective hobby

Reading is one of the least expensive hobbies in the world and can be enjoyed by many different types of people from all age brackets.

You can find books at local book fairs or pop-ups that can be had for free or for bargain-basement prices.

Charity shops also tend to have a good selection of classic books that are acquired for less than your average hourly rate.

Once you have a book, you’ll more than likely be able to enjoy this for many days or weeks meaning you don’t have to constantly keep buying books.

If you’re lucky, you also may find that your older family members have a decent collection of classic books that are absolutely essential to read for most people so it’s worth asking before spending any money.

5. So many choices

Compared to some other hobbies, reading has tons of choices and absolutely billions of books to get started with that can offer a wide variety of factual or fictional topics to engage you with.

Some of the best works are works of fiction that propel you into magical worlds full of wonder and different characters or monsters that you couldn’t even dream of.

You’ll also be surprised at how diverse our living world is and how scary it can be at times through some marvelous factual publications that explore the inner workings of everything around us.

Whatever you decide to go for, you’ll never be stuck for a choice except for having too much at times!

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Conclusion

In conclusion, reading is a hobby that provides many great benefits and is easy to get into due to the fact it’s relatively inexpensive. Reading also has many different works of fiction and plenty of factual texts that will keep you hooked for years; if you like fiction then we recommend starting with The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien which has been praised worldwide for its everlasting appeal.

Alternatively, factual books may require a little more thought and we recommend thinking about what subjects interest you before buying anything. History as a topic is usually a great place to start as it often has desirable storylike qualities that are actually based on real battles or political situations that may have occurred over the past millennia.

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