@wildpetals

When I was younger, many of my peers shared my love of reading. At my elementary school, our teachers mandated that we all be reading a book at all times, but I like to think that most people would have read anyways. We all lived off of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, with the occasional Septimus Heap book thrown in, and books dominated much of our conversations. Reading was not something exceptional or out of the ordinary, it was something that we all did, something that most of us liked and quite a few of us loved.

In middle school, I gradually began to witness my peers’ interests shift away from reading and towards other pursuits. Almost everyone got phones, and most of us got smart phones, these became the new source of entertainment. Reading was fast becoming something outside of the norm, an interest relegated to nerds and teachers’ pets. It was no longer cool to express a love of reading, much less a love of books. Teachers still assigned reading, but most students never actually read the books we were assigned. I, as someone who devoured books by the dozen, felt both alienated and perplexed by my peers’ behavior. Middle school was a time where my reading horizons practically exploded; I read classics, fantasy, science-fiction, historical fiction, mysteries, horror, and contemporary fiction; everything I could get my hands on. I was discovering new favorite authors such as Jane Austen, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Jonathan Stroud and new favorite books such as The Book Thief, Watership Down, and Sorcery and Cecelia. Aside from providing me with hours of entertainment, all of this reading affected me as a person, and I really do think that it has made all the difference for me.

Books have taught me so much- new facts and tidbits, truths about human nature, appreciation for writing craft. However, I think the most important thing that reading gives me is the ability to appreciate and sympathize with people I will never meet and places I will never visit. When I pick up a book, I am instantly transported, able to experience events that I will never see take place and live ten lives in just the span of a few pages. I am firmly convicted that reading has made me a more tolerant, sympathetic person. This is the reason why I believe that reading is so important, and why I am disheartened by the lack of interest that most people my age show in it.

I am not knocking other mediums, such as movies or TV shows, that people always seem to be comparing to books. TV can be just as rewarding as books can, and, in some cases, can provide things that books cannot. However, I do think that the ideal ratio of time spent watching TV to time spent reading should be at the very least equal (for me it will always be heavily tipped in the favor of books; they will forever be my true love), because watching TV is a passive activity, while reading is an active activity. By this I mean that reading engages your brain, encouraging you to form connections and visualize scenery. TV, on the other hand, does all of the work for you. And I will forever insist that no media gives us the same capacity for empathy that books do, because only books allow us to so closely and deeply experience the emotions felt by someone else without actually being the person. And as phones go, while I admit that smart phones have many awesome features that can be great methods of communications or forms of entertainment, I feel that they can definitely foster a technology addiction and can result in hours of wasted time. I freely admit that I sometimes feel like I've spent too much time on my phone, but I do everything I can to keep myself from becoming addicted to it, because I want to make sure that I am consuming media that will truly positively impact me.

I also want to mention the point of vocabulary. Not only has reading given me my love of the written word and writing in general, it has given me my love for words themselves, and has encouraged me to cultivate a large, varied vocabulary. Whenever someone asks me where I heard of a word that I have used, nine out of ten times the answer is that I read it in a book.

So when I say that I wish more of my peers read, it stems not a desire to be able to discuss books with them (okay, fine that’s definitely part of it, but not all of it), but from my personal experiences with the positive impact reading has had on my life, and in the hopes that reading might have the same impact on them.

This post originally appeared on my personal blog, Nerdy and Wordy.

1. The toys are split into two types: girls’ and boys’

I am huge book nerd, and I always begin each year with all the release dates of all the books that I am looking forward to most, usually that newest installments of whatever book series I am currently obsessing over, fresh in my mind. Here are the book releases that I am looking forward to most this year (most of which involve magical mayhem):



The Empty Grave by Jonathan Stroud
If you are wondering when I will ever stop babbling about Jonathan Stroud's books, the answer is never! Stroud is a fantastic writer, and I am completely smitten with everything about his Lockwood and Co series- the characters, the world-building, the plot, I mean everything. So of course I am looking forward to The Empty Grave with such barely concealed impatience that I am likely to drive myself and/or everyone around me crazy before it's even released.


Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner
After five years of no word (not even a title!) on book five of The Queen's Thief series, I had pretty much given up and assumed that I would be reading this book to my grandchildren. So I can't even begin to describe how happy I am that we are getting more of Eugenides, Attolia, Sophos, and Edis' stories this spring. (As for the fact that Turner says there is still one more book to go in the series after this, well, I'm trying not to think of that).


A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab
I don't seem to adore this series or its characters as much as everyone else does, but after A Gathering Shadows' downright EVIL cliffhanger ending, I have absolutely got to know what is going to happen next.

Lady Helen and The Dark Days Pact by Alison Goodman
In so much of YA historical fiction (or really historical fiction in general), the history often feels barely there, but Alison Goodman's Regency-era London meticulously researched and convincingly described to the point where it feels like something right out of a Jane Austen novel. Except, of course for the soul-sucking demons disguised as humans and warriors dedicated to their eradication.


Lois Lane: Triple Threat by Gwenda Bond
I love Gwenda Bond's take on Lois Lane's teenage years to pieces, and can't wait for the next installment, especially since Bond hinted at the future appearance of several prominent DC characters in Double Down!


An Ember in the Ashes #3 by Sabaa Tahir
This book doesn't have a title yet, but that doesn't prevent me from being crazy excited for it. Elias, Laia, and Helene's world is one that occupies your thoughts long after you have turned its final page, and I can't wait to see their stories continued. Tahir is a master at writing books so tautly suspenseful that they are just impossible to put down, and I can't wait to lose hours of sleep to this one.


Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo
After reading her phenomenal Six of Crows duology, it's clear to me that Leigh Bardugo has no problem writing compelling, courageous female protagonists, so I can't wait to see her tackle one of my favorite kick-butt ladies, Wonder Woman!

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