Looking for the pros and cons of reading books?
You are in the right place!
You are reading: Pros and cons of books
Billionaires and entrepreneurs read a lot of books every year.
Your teachers and parents advise you to read more books.
even governments dedicate a considerable part of their budget to the education sector.
the question is:
Should you read more books?
Is it healthy to read books?
I’m an avid reader. And last year alone, I read over 90 books (still counting).
So far, I have read more than 150 books on various topics and have summarized more than 100 of them.
what I have realized is:
This habit of reading has advantages and disadvantages.
And in this article, I’m going to discuss all the pros and cons of reading books.
In fact, the benefits of reading outweigh the drawbacks of reading, so much so that I even published a guide on how to create a reading habit.
But just because I love reading books, I’m not going to hold back and just show why reading books is the only solution.
I’ll also go into more detail about the subtle problems that occur when you read so much.
alright, so without further ado, let’s get started!
advantages of reading books
If you’ve ever wondered why reading is important, take a close look at all of the benefits below.
I’m sure your perspective on reading books will change.
These are the advantages or benefits of reading books:
1. improve focus and concentration
reading books requires attention.
When you read books consistently, your concentration muscles grow. this is how reading books improves your attention and concentration.
bill gates reads 50 books a year. and just look at his concentration.
To achieve your goals, you need laser-sharp focus.
The truth is that it is incredibly difficult to focus and concentrate on one goal for months or even years.
so start reading books. Gradually, your focus and power of concentration will improve.
2. improve vocabulary
To put your ideas into the right words or express yourself exactly the way you want, you need a large enough vocabulary.
Especially in countries where English is not the native language, people face difficulties in speaking English.
Most of the time, they have difficulty finding relevant words while formulating sentences during a conversation. this happens because they don’t have enough words in their active vocabulary.
reading books exposes a person to billions of new words…
using which could improve your vocabulary set and thus bring variety to your sentences while expressing yourself through speech or writing.
3. enhance creativity
Creativity is nothing more than a combination of different ideas.
and books are about ideas.
the best part: the books contain ideas that originate from experienced people.
When you develop the habit of reading books, you also work on your brainstorming muscle.
that means your creative muscle becomes more robust.
There’s a reason all writers are avid readers, and most (if not all) readers start writing over time.
also, exposure to different opinions, thoughts and perspectives allows you to reach multiple conclusions.
special offer: try the 30-day free trial of audible and get 2 free audiobooks
4. provide inspiration
Do you feel bad in your life?
Do you feel like your life is being wasted on your job?
Are you putting off important things?
well, look no further; start reading self-improvement books.
Books are one of the most important sources of inspiration.
how? You could read the biography of elon musk, bill gates, etc., and get an idea of his mindset and thought processes.
what else?
books give you long-term inspiration, unlike the motivational videos you see on youtube.
These are some of the summaries of my motivational books:
- to be obsessed or to be normal [ read abstract | check price on amazon ]
- talent is never enough [ read summary | check price on amazon ]
5. provide perspective
I remember reading:
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People [ read summary | check price on amazon ]
- rich dad poor dad [ read summary | check price on amazon ]
These books changed my life by changing my perspective on it.
One of the easiest ways to have an epiphany or breakthrough moment is to read a book that has changed the lives of millions.
Of course, there are shitty books out there.
But some books are nothing less than gold.
for example, napoleon hill researched for years to write think and grow rich.
another example:
tim ferris interviewed nearly two hundred world-class artists for his podcast and then combined their insights into a single book, tools of titans.
books change your paradigm and allow you to see reality from different angles and thus come to your own conclusion.
6. help you make friends
Humans love to build communities. reading books can make you new friends who share the same interests as you.
You won’t believe how many people love to read books on planet earth; however, interests may differ.
You can also read how to win friends and influence people or other similar books to master communication skills.
7. fun to read
What makes books addictive is that they are fun to read. How wonderful is it to learn great ideas from successful people by turning a few pages?
sometimes they tell you stories that entertain you. while at other times, they give you lessons.
reading is a completely different experience:
From the outside, it looks like you’re just sitting and reading words and sentences.
but readers know from the inside that they’re having fun, which is no less than the pleasure you get from throwing a party.
reading is not boring. It looks boring.
Okay, I agree. some books are boring…
but most of the time, they’re fun to read.
These are some of my best summaries of books you’ll enjoy reading:
- atomic habits by james clear [ read abstract | check price on amazon ]
- the voice of knowledge by miguel ruiz [ read summary | check price on amazon ]
8. help you improve your professional life
There are many books like so good they can’t ignore you, atomic habits, how to win friends and influence people, etc. ., which can help you build a successful career over time.
Tell me any skill and I can tell you a book about it!
What sets successful people apart is that they know things the average person doesn’t.
so if you’re looking to improve your professional life, look for books that teach you how to be successful in your work.
because the books contain researched and valuable information that could help you.
It is important to understand that not all books will be useful to you. but does it really matter?
You just need an idea to change your life.
Who knows, you might even start your business one day by reading books like Zero to One or The $100 Startup.
the possibilities are endless.
If you’re interested in learning about business, check out the following book summaries:
- the 1 page marketing plan [ read summary | check price on amazon ]
- the 360 degree leader [ read summary | check price on amazon ]
9. help you build discipline
I couldn’t stress enough how important discipline is in life. and most non-fiction books like chop wood carry water say the same thing.
Based on the power of habit, certain habits spill over into other areas of our lives.
For example, your habit of reading books every day could help you get to the gym without fail by avoiding procrastination.
That’s because habits are patterns in our brains. In other words, habits are also our muscles that you could train and use in different aspects of life.
10. raise your writing skill
reading helps a lot with writing.
The idea here is simple:
both reading and writing is simply an act of interaction with words. the more you read, the more words you consume.
Ultimately, that is reflected in your writing.
Check this out to make your writing persuasive: Book Summary: The Adweek Copywriting Handbook
11. get rich
(the word “rich” is subjective here).
See Also: Top Ten Harry/Ginny Moments That Didn&039t Make It to the Movies
rich and successful people read many books and suggest the same to others.
books give you knowledge. and one cannot get rich if he has no knowledge about money.
for example:
Rich Dad Poor Dad and The Richest Man in Babylon explain how important it is to learn more about building wealth and how to make your money work for you.
If I hadn’t read those books, I wouldn’t have realized how building assets can help me get rich over time.
the thing is:
You won’t get rich just by reading finance books. you’ll have to work for it.
people like warren buffett and bill gates invest in themselves by reading books.
so if you want to become as good as them, read quality books and improve your mindset.
These are some of the best personal finance books to help you build wealth and manage it efficiently.
12. teach you about personal growth
There is a whole genre of personal development in books. (if not, this blog may not even exist).
You can read several types of books in this genre:
for example:
- personal finance
- productivity
- company …
Notice the word “teach” here. this means that the books will only teach you. to get results, you’ll have to work for it.
13. improve productivity
time has value. It’s the only thing you can’t get back. once it’s gone, it’s gone.
many books will teach you how to use your time efficiently.
for example, the one thing by gary keller taught me why I should focus on one thing at a time and stop multitasking to avoid context switching.
>
by reading books and applying the lesson in your daily life, you can become more productive.
Also read: How to be more productive in life: an easy practical guide (32 tricks)
14. develop your personality
When you exude a strong character with confidence, your personality shines through. By reading books based on psychology, you understand what goes on in people’s minds and why they do what they do.
Furthermore,books build your character by conditioning it with high-quality ideas.
and those beliefs ultimately become your action.
Smart people judge you by your actions, not what you say. when you take the right action, it shows your personality.
15. makes you feel calm and at peace
When you become wiser than your peers, you start saving energy and using it to do meaningful things.
wisdom allows you to see through shit.
eventually, you become calmer and more peaceful.
People often get agitated when they can’t handle their problems in life. the books provide you with enough knowledge to be able to face any circumstance.
There are numerous books that teach you about Stoicism and other similar philosophies.
Books like The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari even show you techniques monks use to stay calm and focus on their goals.
16. enhance your imagination
fiction books are best suited for that. each story takes you on an adventure.
Authors like jk rowling can make you feel the character and make it feel like they’re alive and right in front of you.
by reading storybooks, you can improve your imagination.
Imagination gives you the power to create.
If you want to learn how you can harness the incredible power of your imagination, I highly recommend checking out these book summaries:
- the power of intention [ read summary | check price on amazon ]
- the alter ego effect [ read summary | check price on amazon ]
17. become an idea machine
every time you read a book, your brain muscles get a workout.
and with each training session (book reading session), those muscles become more powerful.
result? Gradually, you start to become an idea machine.
what does idea-machine mean? it’s just that your brain becomes capable of producing many quality ideas in a day.
There is a difference between random thoughts and ideas.
Most people generate random thoughts that are useless. but some people can generate high-quality ideas throughout the day (for example, entrepreneurs) that move the world.
Do you want to learn how to generate multi-million dollar ideas? Check out the following resources:
- steal like an artist [ read summary | check price on amazon ]
- where good ideas come from [ read summary | check price on amazon ]
18. help you remember and learn better
There’s a reason why the world’s most complex topics, like religion and spirituality, are often covered in books.
just think about it:
Which is easier: watch a course or read a book?
Most people are lazy these days. therefore, they prefer to watch a course than read a book.
but there is a limitation to consume videos.
You can’t stick with an idea for long. you’ll need to match your speed to the speed of the video.
sure, you can convert the playback speed to 2x. but still, you can only spend so much time pondering an idea.
Books work like a gym for our minds.
When you read, you go the extra mile. if the idea being read is complex, you can spend as much time as you like until you fully understand it.
I’ve noticed that ideas read in a book stay in my mind longer.
or it could be possible that I’m an avid reader, and that’s why it happens to me.
Anyway, you’re always free to choose whether you want to read a book or watch a video.
bonus tip: we live in the age of videos… so if you want to see animated summaries of some of the best non-fiction books, consider subscribing to my youtube channel.
19. books allow you to pass on your legacy
let’s face the truth:
we will all die one day.
(related: dying with zero book summary)
so when you write and publish a book, it lasts for years.
great people who are no longer with us have passed their wisdom through books to future generations.
And we should be grateful to them, right?
growth would slow if we didn’t have access to ancient discoveries.
Books are one of the best ways to document ideas.
Of course, these days we have the internet.
but think back to the time when we didn’t have such a thing.
We didn’t have this technology to freely share information with the world with the click of a few buttons.
even today, if you write a great book and publish it, people will read it in the future.
That’s the fantastic side of being an author. you can transmit your learning from your experience.
you might say, “but what does all this have to do with reading books. how will it benefit me?”
the answer is:
When you read books, especially books full of wisdom, you realize what a privilege you have if you can read books.
and only after that, you will understand what I am trying to say.
It’s hard to put into words…
but, in general, reading books will improve your life.
disadvantages of reading books
reading books also has its drawbacks. (In life, most things have a price.)
Now, I’m going to talk about all the downsides of reading books. I have personally dealt with most of them. that means I’m not making them out of thin air.
Anyway, let’s get started.
1. consume time
oh, I wish I could fix this.
I can’t read more than four books a month, no matter how hard I try. reason? one needs time to read books.
well, you can also listen to audiobooks, but that’s a different approach. Let’s stick to the context of this article.
why does it take so long to read books?
it’s a no-brainer. most books are over 150 pages. being human, there is a limit to how fast we can read.
read too fast and you might miss important details of the book. read too slow, and it will take you forever to finish that book. so most people read at the speed that suits them.
To those who say they can finish a book in an hour, I say, “really? are you sure you’re not missing fine details?”
Still, you can’t deny that books are very time consuming.
But in the end, reading books isn’t about how fast you can read. it’s about how effectively you read and how much you actually apply to your life.
2. requires willpower
Not really a disadvantage of reading books. it is a prerequisite.
Book reading is not everyone’s cup of tea. some people can’t read more than one page.
For some people, reading is one of the most boring activities in the world.
Yes, reading books can be painful if you’re not used to reading a lot of books.
3. burn money fast
See Also: Book Banning – UNSUITABLE
if you look at amazon, the paperback version of the books tends to be expensive for most readers, considering I’m an Indian.
heck, ebooks and audiobooks are even more expensive.
I won’t say that buying books is a total waste of your precious money.
The reality is that some books are overrated. they have no substance to them, and waste money if bought.
If you’re buying books to put on a show for your friends, I suggest you don’t buy them.
That way, you’ll just end up wasting your money.
4. consume storage
It hardly consumes space when it comes to storing books on your hard drive.
That’s because those books are usually in epub, pdf or mobi format. In other words, a pdf version of a book, in my opinion, will only consume less than 20mb (maximum).
But when it comes to physical books, as the number of books increases, so does the burden of organizing and storing them on a shelf.
some people even love to collect books, while others sell them.
but you can’t hide from the truth that storing physical books and organizing them can be a headache.
note: this is why people prefer the audiobook or ebook format these days.
5. people call you a nerd
This may sound stupid and it’s no big deal. but yes, it also affects.
When people see that you read too much, they start calling you a nerd in their minds.
they think:
“What is the point of reading so much? what a nerd!”
Depending on the kind of friends you have, some may overreact and turn you into a gossip. Fortunately, this doesn’t happen often.
6. weaken your eyesight
lots of reading can put glasses on your nose.
When we read books, we look at the letters that are close to us.
doing it for a long time sometimes causes myopia.
When you become nearsighted, you risk losing the ability to see distant objects clearly.
7. cause infocrastination
infocrastination is the sum of information and procrastination.
infocrastination = information + procrastination
This happens when reading self-help books. some people find escape through these kinds of books.
How many people do you think have become rich after reading “think and grow rich”?
How many people do you think start a startup after reading “zero to one”?
very few, right?
So what happens to most people? they keep procrastinating.
because great goals require great actions.
Either way, it’s up to you what you do after you buy a book.
8. makes you sick
sitting for long hours can cause many diseases.
People often read books while sitting in a chair. this sedentary lifestyle creates many problems such as diabetes or obesity.
One solution might be to take breaks every half hour while reading and walk for 2 minutes along with some stretching.
9. cause confusion sometimes due to conflicting opinions
sometimes two books can have conflicting ideas, which can mess with your mind.
for example, the magic of thinking big says that you should “think big”. on the other hand, think small says you should “think small.”
now what should you do? should you “think big” or “think small”?
Here’s another example:
if you follow the philosophy of steve jobs, you must follow your passion.
but cal newport, in his book so good they can’t ignore you, argues that “follow your passion” is the worst advice.
now what should you do?
Should you follow your passion or not?
here’s one more:
all self-help books like awakening the giant within talk about positive self-help.
but on the other hand, mark manson talks about negative self-help in his book the subtle art of not giving a fuck.
Books are often full of conflicting ideas.
This is not a problem for those who barely read a book every year.
But for those of us who read at least one book every week, this problem can be puzzling.
10. makes you a dopamine addict
sometimes you can have an “aha” moment while reading a book.
That “aha” moment is simply the result of a dopamine rush in your head.
people often get addicted to this high.
This is a rare case.
but I think it’s possible.
Often, people choose a book to find an escape from their boring life full of problems.
reading books and always wishing for an epiphany can make you addicted to dopamine.
11. some books are part of the propaganda
This is the darker side of book reading that no one talks about.
I will not take the name of any book here.
but some books are made for the sole purpose of brainwashing young minds.
There are marketing books whose only goal is to sell you an expensive course at the end.
Also, some religious books ask you to believe in mythical ideas and blindly submit to authority.
there are also good…
However, you don’t have to believe this. this is my personal opinion.
but since I read a lot of books, I’ve become wise enough to decide which book to read and which to avoid.
remember that not all books lead you to the truth.
books that help you improve your life, bring you to reality and help you deal with life’s difficulties are the most practical.
and I recommend that you read more books of this type.
do not believe all the mythical and fantastic ideas that some books share.
stay logical.
reject everything that is not true.
Always do a “background check” on the author or publication before purchasing any book.
be skeptical before accepting any idea.
I recommend you check out these book summaries if you are a truth seeker:
- the voice of knowledge by miguel ruiz [ read summary | check price on amazon ]
- freedom of the known by j krishnamurti [ read abstract | check price on amazon ]
list of all the books mentioned in this article
I’ve put together a list of all the great books I’ve mentioned throughout this article so you don’t waste time looking for them.
last updated on 02-25-2022 / affiliate links / amazon images
conclusion
From the points discussed above, you can conclude that reading books has advantages and disadvantages. however, its pros outweigh its cons.
If you take care of their cons, no one can stop you from achieving great goals.
reading is a superpower. (and “with great power comes great responsibility”.)
If you want to develop a reading habit, try blinkist for days absolutely free.
what is blinkist? is a non-fiction book summary app with lots of wonderful insights and podcasts from authors.
✅start your 7-day risk-free trial of blinkist
and if you’re someone who would like to listen to audiobooks instead of summaries on blinkist, try amazon audible.
✅try Audible’s 30-day free trial and get 2 free audiobooks
I highly recommend both.
now tell me you
Did you like this article about the advantages and disadvantages of reading books?
Did I miss a point?
or do you have any point to add to this?
Do you also face infocrastination?
what struggles do you face while reading a book?
Tell me about it in the comments section below. and most importantly: read on.
Feel free to share this article with others. thanks in advance!