Reading Books | 6 Benefits and Starting with It

"I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."     - J. K. Rowling



Knowledge is power. The only way to attain knowledge is by learning and reading books is a form of learning. It is a hobby for a lot of people as well. And in general, people who read books are comparatively more intelligent than those who don't.

I am not a wild reader like a person who completes a dozen books in a month. Reading for me is a hobby and a part of my daily routine. So, today I am writing about my experience with reading books, how to start with it, and proven benefits of this habit.

Where it all started (for me)?

It all started with a 45-minute video on YouTube. At that time, I was in search of something skillful to make my vacation (after +2 completion) productive. So, I came up with this video on YouTube titled 'Elon Musk: How I Became The Real Iron Man'. It was a biography of Elon Musk by Bloomberg.

In the biography, there was a part where Musk said that he had a great interest in reading books. He was so keen on reading that he started an encyclopedia after he ran out of books. This was the part that motivated the inner me to start reading books.



The whole 45-minute was not about the importance of reading books but my attention was all stuck to that part. Later that day, I googled 'Reading Books' and find out that the majority of other successful people also had this habit of reading books. And even the majority suggested going for self-help books as a go-to category.

I had never read a book before. After watching the 45-minute video and reading articles online, I felt that reading can make me successful. My first book ever was a novel, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I was a mess while reading the book as it was the first time for me to read something thick.

Slowly, I started investing in books, read them, and managed to make it a habit. I felt very productive and found the best technique for time management. But, I am unhappy about how it changed when I joined B.Sc. CSIT. Due to the continuation of my academics and friends-making process, I could hardly manage my few hours a day to my books. Now, my relationship with books in this quarantine is sound.

How to start reading books?

A basic trick to start with reading books is to seek for some motivation or a mentor. Finding a mentor will impact your career by motivating you to set and achieve your life's ultimate goals as well. In my case, my mentor and motivation was the biography of Elon Musk.

Similarly, you should read the benefits of reading books below. That will also motivate you in implementing this habit into your life.



An average person takes 66 days to automate a new habit. So, depending on your behavior and the circumstances, it may take you less or more to implement this habit. It means that you should spend a few hours of your day reading and continue it for (≈)66 days.

To initiate this habit, your first book should be a basic one. If you start with a very complex book, it will be very hard for you as a beginner. And you are also suggested not to start with a book on a completely new topic for you. A simple novel can be a go-to option for starting a book.

How to manage your time for reading books?

It would be hard for most of the students and people with 9 to 5 jobs to manage their time for reading books. Well, I can help you with that. A study suggests that you should not use your phone at least 30 minutes before and after sleep.

The blue light from your phone will damage your eyes every time; especially more at night and right after you are awake. There are many built-in and other apps to make filter the blue light but still, they are not effective to protect your eyes. So, why not use that time for paper books?

I have managed my time to study in the evening and it had helped me in many ways. Gone were the days when I used my phone late nights, worsened my eyes, and gave real pain to my eyeballs. Also, the next morning would be very stressful. Now, I am getting proper sleep in the night-time. And reading itself has made me smarter and intelligent every day. Lol.

If you are a person who is a wild reader but you read books online or through pdf files, you should change your game. Buying paper books will help you protect your eyes. And yes, turning the pages will give you a whole different excitement.




Likewise, if you want to get free books (pdf), then an easy and free website to download books (pdf) for free is pdfdrive.

6 benefits of reading books

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one." - George R. R. Martin

• Reading books helps to boost your brainpower.

Books are the source of immense knowledge and power. So, every time you are reading a book, you are adding knowledge to your brain and memory. That will help you with proper brain functioning and ultimately boost your brainpower.

• Reading books makes you intelligent.

Reading books makes you intelligent. The more you read, the more you will know. This habit will strengthen your vocabulary skills and even helps attain better results on reading tests. It is also proven that people who read books are supposed to do better in IQ tests.

• You will feel relaxed and less stressed.

When you complete a book, you feel a different power in yourself. It will help you provide relaxation to your brain and smoothens your mental health. Moreover, it also helps you with stress management. 

• Your ability to empathize increases.

When you read fiction as well as no-fiction books, you are most likely to understand the emotion, feelings, and beliefs of other people. Thus, reading books makes you more social and helps in making real-life social relationships better.

• You will be successful.

Reading books is considered to be one of the most common habits of the rich and successful people. The most successful people like Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, etc. read books and many billionaires in the world credit their success to books.

• Reading books at night will help you with proper sleep.

The blue light coming out from your phone disturbs you in your sleep and fool your brain to wake. While reading books, you are not likely to get blue light from your phone. Plus, you are not even out of battery while reading books.