To think reading is overrated. Persuade me to become a reader pls

[Croissantsfordinner]

Something I would never admit IRL. I just never saw the point of reading if not for a bit of entertainment, which is nice, but why is it so much better than watching a film o listening to an audio story?

I’ve always preferred the book as you use your own imagination, & it takes you out of yourself. I often mourn a book after I’ve read it.

Netlix is good, but I can lose interest & forget I’m even watching it at times.

Audio’s just pointless for me as I can’t just listen. I’m too busy looking around me, no book to look at or nothing to see like TV.

Why is it worth doing? Well, from a personal growth perspective, it improves your vocabulary and your grammar while also staving off congnative decline. It's far cheaper than the cinema, endlessly portable, doesn't require electricity (if during daylight) and is easily shared.

I think audiobooks are just as valid as print books in many circumstances. OK, the voice actor makes a lot of the character decisions for you that you would make if reading the text yourself, but it's still plugging directly into your imagination. And sometimes it's not convenient to hold the book while doing something else (I like them while a crochet) or you're tired and the text is small, or you don't feel confident with the vocabulary. A good audiobook is a wonderful thing.

If you think of the expense of making a TV series or film... loads of the best stories just don't get adapted to a screen because the costs would be far too high without a guaranteed audience. There are millions more books with stories about absolutely everything you could possible be interested in out there somewhere, just waiting for you to find them.

Reading can give you much more insight into what a character is thinking/feeling. Also can have massive sweep and books aren't limited to the max time a film or tv show can be. The godfather film is a masterpiece, the book is better. The 2 part Dune films are good the book blows the mind with the technical detail of the planet.

I read a lot of travel books. Currently I am travelling around England with Stuart Marconi. I also read more than one book at a time, so I am reading the biography of someone who isn't famous but is giving a personal history of left wing politics in the 1980s which as someone who is more to the right is fascinating.

There is also a wider scope of topics and availability of books than tv/film. I have recently re-read Bernard Corwalls Last kingdom series.

If I am going somewhere or know I have a wait I take to kill a mocking bird with me, I have probably read it 20 times and I copy I take I had for Christmas in 1983. I can just pick up from where I left off and it keeps me enraptured.

As some others have said, they're just different. But I've always been a reader so nothing beats a book for me!

TV is different - I don't get so 'involved' in the story because it doesn't require my involvement.

Some video games (rpg type games where the player makes choices for the character) are somewhere in between. For me, anyway. Much more immersive than TV.

I also enjoy audiobooks but I am far more likely to get distracted and lose concentration with those. I play them while I'm doing something that doesn't need my brain!

Reading cultivates your imagination because you can use the text to build pictures of the characters, towns, homes etc in your mind. It requires a person to use more of their brain. A film is presented to you, it requires little effort to watch, but a book needs your imagination! It also improves vocabulary, spelling and grammar. I tend to read my Kindle and have a Kindle Unlimited subscription. I can easily read 150-200 books per year, I'd be bankrupt if I had to buy them, and would need another house just to store them!! 🤣 Reading got me through lockdown. It's personal choice no one says you have to like reading a book!!

Books are just wonderful to take your mind elsewhere

It's more immersive and you get a much more nuanced story with more character development. Audiobooks will do a lot of that, and I count them as reading personally although I prefer to read myself as it's much quicker.

Think about what you actually want to read and don't go for "worthy" books. I read a lot of Romance and Sci-fi or Fantasy. A lot of books that win awards etc are miserable and I'd rather not add misery into my life.

I love reading AND films AND audio books.

But I like reading best because I can really enter the mind of the characters in a way there isn’t time to do in a film.

And I find sometimes that the narrator in Audio books brings me out of the narrative by interpreting the tone of a sentence or word differently than I would.

I have a very visual imagination so reading a book really transports me to another world in a way that films or audio books don’t quite manage.

But if I’ve really loved a book I’ll also listen to the audio book and watch the film if there is one.

It’s just personal preference, there is no “better”.

I could ot imagine life without a book. I bought a kindle to stop me bringing home hundreds of books each year, so now i read my kindle and real books, twice as much fun. I would read the back of the Cornflakes box if i didn't have anything to read. Books carry you to places you would never visit.

If you're happy as you are then there's absolutely no reason to change.

I struggle with audiobooks unless I'm in the car as I find my concentration drifts. That's my failing/preference not an issue with audiobooks.

Totally agree.
During lockdown I wasn’t stuck in the house, I spent a lot of it in Cornwall and Crete… thanks to the books I read!

No, she thinks people who think reading is morally superior to watching a film are snobs.

I am a total bookworm and would always choose reading over watching something, but I don't think this makes me any more intelligent than someone who'd rather watch a film or a show.

In fact, someone who watches lots of documentaries is probably far intellectually superior to me given that I almost exclusively read murder mysteries!

The only intellectual benefit to reading over watching TV or listening to an audiobook is that your spelling is likely to be better.

Nobody should have to convince you to do something. If you want to try reading, then pick up a book and read. If you don't want to read, then don't.

@IButtleSir
i prefer reading over watching tv and I don’t think I’m morally superior to someone who prefers to watch tv. How could I ever make that determination solely based on this? Or how could anyone?
But I disagree with the assessment that only improves your spelling. It really depends what you read.

I find that in films or TV (even if the story is split into several episodes) there just isn't the time to fit in every detail of the actual story in the book. There are inevitably huge chunks left out or (the thing that annoys me the most) they rewrite it so much that the story is changed almost out of recognition. Also when reading a book you are often let into the inmost thoughts of the various characters in a way which can't really happen on screen, you just have to guess what they are thinking based on facial expressions, body language etc. You can also go back and re-read a passage if you later get to another point in the book which refers back to it and reveals something related to it that you hadn't noticed at the time. I do enjoy films and TV as well as books but on the whole I prefer to read a book after seeing the story on screen rather than the other way about for the reasons stated above.

You do you.

I think there’s a positive connotation with reading as it’s definitely a life skill people should put effort into having. Spelling, grammar etc. But reading for entertainment isn’t the only way to achieve this.

I don’t often read books, but occasionally enjoy the odd one. If I need to read or write, I know I’m competent at both already, it’s not like I need some extra practice!

I find Films and TV are hard work. You have to invest a lot of time and most of it isn't enjoyable. I get bored easily watching things. Reading I find it easier to work out if I will enjoy something. It's quicker. You can fill in odd bits of time. There's nothing better than a good book but I wouldn't be snobby about it - read things you enjoy and find interesting. I don't usually like prize winning novels as they're mostly miserable. Lighter novels, classic novels, autobiography, history, travel, non fiction crime books are my preferred reading

I love the feeling of satisfaction when I've finished a good book .

I love all three.

OP, why do you think films and audio books are better than reading?

I love reading but I don't think it's superior to any other hobby really. Especially if you're reading trashy genre fiction - no judgement for that either but I think it's weird how reading is often seen as "better" than watching TV no matter what book or show is in question.

I'm not an avid reader, but when I find a book that grips, it's the best. I enjoy audio as well.

Reading is good for your spelling and vocabulary but I sometimes feel like it's time wasted, I love listening to audio books while I crochet or walk the dog so at least I have something to show for my hours spent invested in a story.

They're very diverting during a power cut or a cyber attack.

I read a lot and also listen to a lot of audiobooks. I prefer it to music or radio. However, I do not buy into the notion that reading is a virtue. It isn't. It's just a pastime like cycling or knitting (imo).

Do it if you want to. Don't if you don't