What can we learn from books?

We can advance our vocabulary by reading challenging books, which not only help us project our own ideas but also allow us to enter into a new reality different from our own. They lead us into our imagination, to search for something that is better, or even to show the restrictions that our reality gives us. When someone reads Harry Potter, they are allowed to look at a different perspective of life, but they also realize that they cannot live in a world of magic and the ability to fly or cast spells. Reading gives us truth and hope, and it opens our eyes to what we are and what we can become. Although wit is not our reality, we can learn things from books to apply to our reality. Harry Potter can teach lessons of friendship and of loyalty, or of determination and bravery. Reading inspires people to do things they would not normally do, one book that really inspired me in an odd way was Frankenstein. Although the story is about a monster that destroys everything his master loves, it showed me that you have to look past what people look like and what they wear, and to really get to know people and understand them before you make judgments about them. I was able to put myself in the shoes of the monster, which had such a kind and loving heart, but since he looked like a monster, he was treated like one. It is a completely fictional novel, but I was able to learn a valuable lesson from it. What more can reading do to make small changes that can have huge implications?

(Here is a video of Harry Potter World, a way that we can link our reality to the novel's reality) 

                I believe another reason reading is so important is because it develops our deep attention, which is important especially in college. The ability to focus for long periods of time has gradually become lost, and I believe a factor of that is due to how much time we spend on social media and television. If we could take the time to put down our phones, and choose to read a novel, our study skills would greatly enhance. I don’t know what the magic formula is for us to change our new found media culture, but if things keep going the way they are, what will happen to books? Will they disappear completely? Too much is at stake if we let that happen.