To think being a reader doesn't make you better or smarter?

[OnceaReaderNeveraReader]

Never been a reader. I have tried many times in my life and have enjoyed the odd book here and there but have never managed to actually become a regular reader and don't miss books ever. I was talking about this with some colleagues the other day and one of them made me feel a bit bad about this as if reading is a sign of better intellectual ability and superiority.
I am uni educated and enjoy a variety of other cultural hobbies such as art, theatre and dance but I just cannot understand what is so special about books!
How does one become a reader later in life and is it really that bad if I don't enjoy it?

Reading gives you a command of language that you otherwise wouldn’t have. It expands your vocabulary, helps you understand tricky grammar, turns of phrase, and, making human connections. I will never forget the absolute delight I felt the first time I read a sentence that made me laugh out loud. P.G. Wodehouse, “The Luck of the Bodkins.”

Reading for enjoyment encompasses lots of things, though. From utter trash to the Booker long list. Jack Reacher and Harry Potter aren’t exactly literary fiction.

If you think people are learning nothing from reading the likes of Hilary Mantel, Toni Morrison, Margaret Atwood, and so on, then I’m genuinely astounded.

I have always been an avid reader, but honestly I am not clever. My husband isn't much of a reader at all, but is very much my superior on the brains front.

I'd far rather have had my husband's technical/engineering brain, in many ways.

Though the years of joy I have had from reading books will remain with me for life,I'd honestly trade it all to be good at maths. My employment prospects would have been so much better.

Being ABLE to read is of course very important. But there's a reason a STEM field degree is much more valuable from an employment point of view than an English Literature one. Much as I hate to admit it, practically, my English Literature degree was worthless.

Those who read the classics or Shakespeare I think tend to have a sense of superiority

Just wow.

I’m not a big reader and also received similar responses in the past. However I’m an excellent letter writer, problem solver, advice giver and very good at proof reading (I also make mistakes too 🤪). I like to read articles, I love music and stories which come in the form of shows and films.

thats true, although i did discover the nexus and black lace book range which seems more saucy than mills and boons, these were at a book market, not sure if ebay etc sell them

strictly speaking reading mumsnet threads can make a person smarter depending on the topic,

plus a bit of triva in the past before tv when people read too much aparenetly its reading fever

Actually I disagree; with podcasts you are taking in information that is being discussed usually between a couple of people which isn't the same as reading or studying something first hand by yourself which makes you susceptible to bias.

I studied Classics at university, and read a lot of texts in their original language. This is different to listening to people discuss a text and interject with their own thoughts and feelings of interpretation etc.

I see what you are saying but I didn't mean 'mental space' to just be 'through the eyes of another person'. Just understanding their internal thoughts, feelings and motivations is something we don't get to do with people in real life. It doesn't matter if you are imagining it as an outside observer. You still become an outside observer with omniscient powers as you read.

I noticed that over the past year since I started back WFH as an editor and journalist, I think my brain has certainly improved through daily editing of dull snd dreary press releases and news stories, particularly as they are usually very formal and business/-industry related.

I agree with those PP who say that it boosts brain power. It sounds mad but I would say it has had a great impact on my brain through neuroplasticity, especially when reading technical information and rewriting it to become more succinct.

It isn't fiction but it's reading long form and I think it's certainly improved my focus and my DH comments I seem more on the ball.

Yes, neuroplasticity has definitely been something that has helped my head injury.

Of yes....Black Lace books were very naughty to read 😂😂😂

I think MN is a fantastic source of knowledge. I’ve learnt a lot on here over the years.

And also some of my favourite phrases. I said “stealth boast” in conversation with my dc’s the other day and they thought that was hilarious! Apparently the modern day equivalent is “lowkey flexing” 😂

@ObelixtheGaul I hear you. My DH, his father and our son are all severely dyslexic, and weren't considered clever at school. Their taste in literature is entertainment, and they have no ability to write fluently. My DS is accomplished at speaking in public because LAMDA helped fill that gap, but much more accomplished because he listens to well-read audiobooks narrated by superb actors and readers.

We need all the variations on intelligence. My DH would be the first to acknowledge that his teachers thought him a dunce at school, but he's been a very successful commercial director who has created a whole small company and kept it afloat for 35 years.

DFIL was a talented pilot, which he discovered during his National Service.

My humanities degree, allied to a love of reading and interest in society, politics and business, gave me a lucrative career in B2B communications for many years.

have only read a bit of Attwood out of that list and gave up after one chapter.

Qh that's cool 😎 I have a humanities degree and write B2B communications / news editing too! It's definitely something that I can use my love of language for.😆

If you think people are learning nothing from reading the likes of Hilary Mantel, Toni Morrison, Margaret Atwood, and so on, then I’m genuinely astounded.

Who said that?

I think good literature can make you consider things you might not have thought of before, can encourage greater empathy and be educational.

For example, I knew nothing of the Nigerian civil war until I read Half a Yellow Sun and then looked it up. Similarly, I knew very little of Partition until I read Shalimar the Clown. Obviously, you need to be careful regarding artistic licence, but you can easily fact check these days. I really loved Girl, Woman, Other and found it really eye opening to read each character's story from the perspective of a POC, written by a black woman.

That's not necessarily making anyone 'smarter', but it does foster awareness, curiosity and understanding.

I think rather than the actual reading, it is the mindset behind why you read which indicates smarter people. That it denotes a curiosity, a desire to see different aspects of life and others, and an expansion of knowledge? You can certainly fulfil those things in other ways and many people do. But if your interests are watching soaps and doomscrolling you probably aren't increasing your smarts.

Cool. Different people like different things. Whether or not every commenter has read or enjoyed the specific authors listed isn’t really central to my point.

I quoted the comment to which I was replying.

I'm not an Attwood enthusiast either, but maybe you should try something else @godmum56 . Frederick Forsyth's autobiography of his early years (I can't recall the title), before he was 20, is brilliant reading. He ran away to Spain (speaking no Spanish) and survived on his wits. It's a magnificent rollicking adventure story, probably lavishly embellished, but a great, fun read.

After 18 months, he'd learned Spanish, tried bull-fighting, and found his way into journalism. After which, he became one of the world's best-selling thriller writers.

thank you, I have never been fond of biography or autobiography. There are plenty of other genres which I do enjoy.

It's still a fab read, even if you don't think you like that sort of thing. No footnotes for a start! If nothing else, it makes a good Christmas stocking filler for the man who wants nothing.

I find it very hard to unpack my own upbringing from this discussion. My parents were huge intellectual snobs and loathed it when we consumed any kind of media other than current affairs. My mum would allow us about an hour of TV a day and then come and turn the TV off and my dad would set me reading “targets”.

left me with a very ambivalent attitude towards reading. I didn’t touch a book for pleasure from my early teens until my early 30s because of the heavy handed way it was foisted on us. Later, I have become quite a voracious reader.

I do think western society has a reading bias which is less obvious in other kinds of civilisation and there is a huge amount of snobbery towards people who don’t read or read minimally. And its hard to be objective about this.

Theres no serious debate over the idea that reading impoves vocabulary and boosts comprehension, which in turn supports learning confidence. Once you can read you also have better access to a whole body of knowledge which can be digested more easily so its a self sustaining process. It obviously also increases knowledge although I don’t think its superior to other forms of content: you can probably learn more on the internet than you can in books.

But does it actually make you more intelligent? I don’t think so. I think there are other ways to exercise neural pathways, express curiosity and learn if you don’t love reading. And I have encountered many people who don’t read but who are far more intelligent than me.