Recommended Literature

Why is Reading Important?

There is a multitude of reasons it's important to read. Reading doesn't have to be just textbooks and newspapers to be important, any reading at all can do the following.

1. Reading expands our minds. When we read, our minds are filled with ideas. We imagine what characters look like and try to guess what'll happen next. All these things help keep our brains healthy.

2. Reading helps to improve our concentration. When we're reading a book and we truly enjoy what we're reading, it can be like we've entered another dimension. A good book can send us to far-off places and help us learn how to focus on one thing at a time.

3. Reading provides us with more perspectives. When we read, oftentimes the characters are not carbon copies of ourselves. While reading about what these characters are going through, we grow our understanding of what others go through in life.

Why is Good Literature Important?

Good literature is hard to define and we enter into a debate that brings up issues of classism, racism, and ableism in trying to define it. Rather, allow me to suggest that a well-rounded reader is important. A well-rounded reader reads a multitude of different books. They read books written in verse. They read chapter books. They read picture books. They read books with Christian characters, Muslim characters, and Jewish characters. They read books with white protagonists, black protagonists, Asian protagonists, and indigenous protagonists. Characters in their books are diverse. This is what is important. I believe that a well-rounded reader is important for much of the same reasons that reading is important. Everyone has what is called internal biases. These internal biases are the unconscious thoughts we have about others that are based more on stereotypes than anything. One of the greatest ways we can fight these internal biases is by broadening our horizons and interacting with things that challenge these biases. An easy way to broaden our horizons and gain more perspective is by reading and reading diverse literature.