It starts quietly. Like a clock ticking in a forgotten room. You don’t even notice it at first – that hollow feeling. Something is missing. You scroll. You click. You laugh at a meme, send a reel, tap a story. But then, when it’s finally quiet again, and the phone screen goes black, there’s nothing there.
No aftertaste. No memory. Just a strange kind of emptiness.
I used to read a lot. I don’t say that to sound smart or smug. It’s just the truth. I read like my life depended on it. It probably did. Books were how I learned to listen, to care, to think. To slow down. But somewhere along the way, I swapped chapters for captions, stories for shorts, paper for pixels.
And now, like a lot of people, I’m trying to find my way back.
Reading Slows Down Time
People say life is moving too fast now. But that’s not quite right. Life has always been fast. What’s changed is us. Our attention. Our pace. Our willingness to sit still.
Reading a book is a rebellion against the rush. You don’t scroll a book. You don’t swipe through a chapter. You sit. You breathe. You focus. And something strange happens—time stretches. Your mind unclenches. You feel a little more like yourself again.
Research from the University of Sussex found that reading for just six minutes can reduce stress by up to 68%—more than listening to music or taking a walk. That’s not just comforting—it’s essential in a world running on overdrive.
Books Rebuild the Broken Muscle of Attention
We’ve worn our attention spans thin. Paper-thin. Try watching someone read a full article without checking their phone. It’s rare. Tragic, even. But when you read a book—really read—you train your mind to focus again. It’s like physical therapy for your brain.
One chapter a day. That’s all it takes. And the benefits spill over—into how you listen to a friend, how you pay attention in meetings, how you notice the small details of a rainy day. The more you read, the more life you see.
In India, a National Book Trust survey (2020) found that 63% of readers believed books helped improve their concentration. That’s not just a claim. That’s a lifeline.
Reading Makes You Smarter, Yes—But Also Kinder
Vocabulary is a funny thing. People think it’s just about using fancy words. But it’s more than that. A good vocabulary lets you understand others better. It helps you say what you mean when the moment calls for it. It gives you dignity in conversation.
But here’s what’s better—reading, especially fiction, makes you kinder. Neuroscience backs this up: reading activates parts of your brain involved in empathy, perspective-taking, and emotional understanding. Simply put, reading trains your heart to care.
A tweet might make you smirk. But a novel? A novel will remind you how to feel.
Books Are Time Machines and Soul Maps
William Styron once said a great book should leave you with many experiences and a little exhaustion. He was right. Good books make you live more than one life.
When you read The Old Man and the Sea, you’re not just watching Santiago battle the marlin. You are Santiago. You’re holding the line in the dark. When you read To Kill a Mockingbird, you don’t just witness injustice—you question what fairness really means. That’s what books do—they deepen you.
Author Mark Batterson once said: “1 book = 2 years of wisdom.” Read 50 books, and you’ve lived a hundred years. No time machine needed.
Fiction Isn’t Escape. It’s Transformation.
Some people say fiction is a waste of time. I used to feel guilty about reading stories when life felt serious or heavy. But now I know better.
Fiction doesn’t just entertain—it equips. It prepares your heart. It makes you braver. When you root for a character, you walk their path. And in doing so, your brain lights up as if you’ve lived it yourself.
The more stories you read, the more your emotional muscle grows. And in a world that often encourages reaction over reflection, that muscle is everything.
Books Keep the Mind Sharp, Even in Old Age
Reading books regularly may help delay cognitive decline. That’s not poetry—it’s science. Every time you read, your brain works to imagine, to connect, to remember. It builds scenes, draws meaning, holds detail. This is mental exercise at its finest.
A study by the Indian Journal of Geriatric Mental Health (2021) showed that older adults who read frequently performed 23% better in memory and focus tasks compared to non-readers. Think of it as strength training—only quieter, and more rewarding.
You Were Made for Story. Don’t Settle for Snippets.
We are storytelling creatures. Since the dawn of language, we’ve needed stories to make sense of chaos. But something’s shifted. We now live on snappy sound bites, headlines, reels, and rage-posts.
The problem with modern media isn’t that it’s fast. It’s that it’s shallow. When you spend your day hopping from clip to comment, you lose something vital—depth, patience, curiosity.
Books give it back. They ask you to sit with complexity. To follow characters who evolve slowly. To find comfort in not knowing everything right away.
You Don’t Have to Finish the Book—Just Begin
Maybe it’s been years. Maybe you’re out of practice. Maybe your schedule is a mess. That’s okay. No one’s asking you to finish War and Peace. Just start somewhere.
Pick a book. Sit with it. Let it sit with you.
Let it become the thing you reach for when everything else feels too loud. Let it speak to the quieter parts of you—the parts that don’t shout, but feel. The parts you may have forgotten.
Because that’s what a good book does—it doesn’t just give you knowledge or entertainment.
It gives you you.
A Final Invitation
So here’s your invitation: go to your shelf. Or a library. Or a bookstore. Pick something—anything—that stirs a memory or a mood.
Not for a test. Not for productivity. Not for someone else’s approval.
Just for the quiet joy of turning a new page.
And maybe, just maybe, for finding your way back to something real.
Gowher Majeed Bhat is a creative writer and educator based in Kashmir. He writes on society, education, and culture.
It starts quietly. Like a clock ticking in a forgotten room. You don’t even notice it at first – that hollow feeling. Something is missing. You scroll. You click. You laugh at a meme, send a reel, tap a story. But then, when it’s finally quiet again, and the phone screen goes black, there’s nothing there.
No aftertaste. No memory. Just a strange kind of emptiness.
I used to read a lot. I don’t say that to sound smart or smug. It’s just the truth. I read like my life depended on it. It probably did. Books were how I learned to listen, to care, to think. To slow down. But somewhere along the way, I swapped chapters for captions, stories for shorts, paper for pixels.
And now, like a lot of people, I’m trying to find my way back.
Reading Slows Down Time
People say life is moving too fast now. But that’s not quite right. Life has always been fast. What’s changed is us. Our attention. Our pace. Our willingness to sit still.
Reading a book is a rebellion against the rush. You don’t scroll a book. You don’t swipe through a chapter. You sit. You breathe. You focus. And something strange happens—time stretches. Your mind unclenches. You feel a little more like yourself again.
Research from the University of Sussex found that reading for just six minutes can reduce stress by up to 68%—more than listening to music or taking a walk. That’s not just comforting—it’s essential in a world running on overdrive.
Books Rebuild the Broken Muscle of Attention
We’ve worn our attention spans thin. Paper-thin. Try watching someone read a full article without checking their phone. It’s rare. Tragic, even. But when you read a book—really read—you train your mind to focus again. It’s like physical therapy for your brain.
One chapter a day. That’s all it takes. And the benefits spill over—into how you listen to a friend, how you pay attention in meetings, how you notice the small details of a rainy day. The more you read, the more life you see.
In India, a National Book Trust survey (2020) found that 63% of readers believed books helped improve their concentration. That’s not just a claim. That’s a lifeline.
Reading Makes You Smarter, Yes—But Also Kinder
Vocabulary is a funny thing. People think it’s just about using fancy words. But it’s more than that. A good vocabulary lets you understand others better. It helps you say what you mean when the moment calls for it. It gives you dignity in conversation.
But here’s what’s better—reading, especially fiction, makes you kinder. Neuroscience backs this up: reading activates parts of your brain involved in empathy, perspective-taking, and emotional understanding. Simply put, reading trains your heart to care.
A tweet might make you smirk. But a novel? A novel will remind you how to feel.
Books Are Time Machines and Soul Maps
William Styron once said a great book should leave you with many experiences and a little exhaustion. He was right. Good books make you live more than one life.
When you read The Old Man and the Sea, you’re not just watching Santiago battle the marlin. You are Santiago. You’re holding the line in the dark. When you read To Kill a Mockingbird, you don’t just witness injustice—you question what fairness really means. That’s what books do—they deepen you.
Author Mark Batterson once said: “1 book = 2 years of wisdom.” Read 50 books, and you’ve lived a hundred years. No time machine needed.
Fiction Isn’t Escape. It’s Transformation.
Some people say fiction is a waste of time. I used to feel guilty about reading stories when life felt serious or heavy. But now I know better.
Fiction doesn’t just entertain—it equips. It prepares your heart. It makes you braver. When you root for a character, you walk their path. And in doing so, your brain lights up as if you’ve lived it yourself.
The more stories you read, the more your emotional muscle grows. And in a world that often encourages reaction over reflection, that muscle is everything.
Books Keep the Mind Sharp, Even in Old Age
Reading books regularly may help delay cognitive decline. That’s not poetry—it’s science. Every time you read, your brain works to imagine, to connect, to remember. It builds scenes, draws meaning, holds detail. This is mental exercise at its finest.
A study by the Indian Journal of Geriatric Mental Health (2021) showed that older adults who read frequently performed 23% better in memory and focus tasks compared to non-readers. Think of it as strength training—only quieter, and more rewarding.
You Were Made for Story. Don’t Settle for Snippets.
We are storytelling creatures. Since the dawn of language, we’ve needed stories to make sense of chaos. But something’s shifted. We now live on snappy sound bites, headlines, reels, and rage-posts.
The problem with modern media isn’t that it’s fast. It’s that it’s shallow. When you spend your day hopping from clip to comment, you lose something vital—depth, patience, curiosity.
Books give it back. They ask you to sit with complexity. To follow characters who evolve slowly. To find comfort in not knowing everything right away.
You Don’t Have to Finish the Book—Just Begin
Maybe it’s been years. Maybe you’re out of practice. Maybe your schedule is a mess. That’s okay. No one’s asking you to finish War and Peace. Just start somewhere.
Pick a book. Sit with it. Let it sit with you.
Let it become the thing you reach for when everything else feels too loud. Let it speak to the quieter parts of you—the parts that don’t shout, but feel. The parts you may have forgotten.
Because that’s what a good book does—it doesn’t just give you knowledge or entertainment.
It gives you you.
A Final Invitation
So here’s your invitation: go to your shelf. Or a library. Or a bookstore. Pick something—anything—that stirs a memory or a mood.
Not for a test. Not for productivity. Not for someone else’s approval.
Just for the quiet joy of turning a new page.
And maybe, just maybe, for finding your way back to something real.
Gowher Majeed Bhat is a creative writer and educator based in Kashmir. He writes on society, education, and culture.