What Books Do For Us

Aptly, I could write chapter and verse on this one but I will limit it.

Books are one of the best inventions we’ve come up with as a species. Books entertain us and take us away from our cares for a while. Books educate us. Books inspire us.

Reading encourages empathy as we follow what characters do and root for them to succeed. In the case of villains where we’re normally rooting for them to fail, there is still some empathy here usually for what the hero has to overcome.

Sometimes you can see where the villains are coming from but still don’t agree with their actions. So again there is some empathy. Encouraging empathy is good for us per se.

And then there are the stories of the writers who bring us the books we love. The stories of how they overcame difficulties and became published authors inspire so many and do continue to inspire me though I am now published myself.

In writing books, authors have to think about their characters, what they’re going to do, what the plot line is going to be and so on. Working all of that out has to be beneficial for the brain, I would have thought.

Certainly I know writing inspires me to try and write more and better. The striving behind writing and bringing books out is a good thing too.

I’ve loved the rise of the indie press, partly because I am published by them, but mainly because they are bringing more books to more people and giving more authors a voice.

Last but definitely not least, there is a genre and format of book to suit everyone - ebooks, audio books, crime fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, and all manner of other genres and formats.

Books are meant to be enjoyed. Long live the book!