When I was younger I would sometimes spend the whole day reading a book, not even pausing for mealtimes and if I could get away with it I would read until long after bedtime. As I’ve grown older it has become harder for me to concentrate, but more and more I find that it is healthy for me to put down my phone, close my laptop and let myself be completely submerged in a story or perspective for a while.

Whether it is fiction or non-fiction I often find refreshment and sometimes empowerment in this other perspective offered by another writer, maybe it offers me a break from my own! It certainly provides a respite from repetitive thoughts or worries that don’t go anywhere. Reading a good book is like taking a journey, and like Bastian in The Neverending Story, we take ourselves on the journey with it. We relate new insights to our own lives, we feel the emotions of the characters, we are engaged in something that feels like it is happening within us, even though the information is coming from outside. 

This is what makes books so powerful I think – once you are engaged with them there is no barrier between you and the book. Maybe that is why I choose to write and it is definitely why I keep coming back for more books! 

Have I made you want to pick up a book? If so, check out some of my book recommendations and see what you think.