Shocking facts about reading more than one genre

You are here! Before you proceed to read what this post is about, I would love you to answer these few questions. You can just say the answer to yourself or write it somewhere.

Are you aware that there are more undiscovered treasures than you ever thought was possible in between the pages of a book?

What genres take up the most space on your shelf or library? Fiction? Self-help? Biography/memoirs? 

If I asked you to mention the genre you can't be caught dead reading, what genre would be the first on your mind?

After answering the power questions, the next step is to acknowledge a few things...

1. Reading goes beyond just a fun pastime(in case you still think it is). Instead, it is an avenue to learn and attain a level of personal growth.

2. No doctor would recommend just one class of food when the other five classes of foods are equally important for the body. Just the same way, it can not be recommended to just stick to one genre when you can choose to step outside the box and make even more discoveries than the confines one genre allows.

3. Having a reading list that comprises different genres does not make you an unserious person.

Now that we have agreed on those three things, let's get to the importance of each genre. 

Classics

In the 1980s, Italo Calvino said in his essay "Why Read the Classics?" that "a classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say". Carefully analyzing this definition, we can say that a classic book is one that broke boundaries and challenged conceptions and still has people reading the book 50 years after it was published. Some popular classics of all time are  To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, and so on.

Why you should read classics

Reading classics makes you smarter and generally improves your common sense and comprehension by strengthening your ability to think and make logical conclusions.

Reading classics will give you a deeper understanding of the culture, history, beliefs behind the main context of the book.

Reading classics teaches life lessons through history and also challenges you to think critically. 

Fiction

No one can deny that fiction helps us escape realities. A perfect truth out of our imperfect world.

Why you should read fiction.

Studies have shown that imagining stories helps activate regions of the human brain responsible for better understanding of others and helps you see the world from different and new perspectives.

It is most effective for stress relief.

It opens your mind and helps you to grow your capacity for empathy.

Self-help books

Self-help books aim to help individuals independently improve some or all aspects of their lives. In recent years, self-help books have been written on various topics like forming habits, reaching goals, losing weight, increasing productivity, overcoming anxiety, and generally living one’s best life.

Why you should read self-help books

You are inspired to make better choices. You know better, and try to become better.

It puts you on a path where you can read, create and practice effective strategies to work on the lessons and improve the quality of your life in these areas or even other related areas.

Biographies

It is not every time you get to tell your own stories because you feel like you are not where you should be yet. It is enough to boost your motivation when we read about people who have gone through the things we have gone through or will go through later. 

Why you should read Biographies

Reading about extraordinary things done by ordinary people is one source of inspiration.

They give you mentors from a distance.

They promote self-discovery. 

In conclusion, Oscar Wilde said that it is what you read when you don't have to that determines what you will be when you can't help it.

The final question is, What new genre are you going to give a trial?