The Earth consists of the southern and northern hemispheres. Summer in the southern hemisphere (Antarctica, Africa, Australia, South America, and Asia) is in December, January and February. Last week, when I phoned a friend in Australia, she was already tucked in bed at 5:00 PM reading a non-fiction book (it’s winter there).
Summer in the northern hemisphere (United States, Canada, Russia and Europe) happens in June, July and August. Here in France, we have been experiencing heatwave on and off. When it’s too hot to do outdoor activities, many people (including myself) read. I don’t go for books everyone buys and have just finished reading a non-profit/philanthropic organisation-published book, “Stories of a Pandemic”.
It’s common knowledge that reading stimulates our brains. Some studies claim that reading books slows down mental disorders, such as Alzheimer’s and Dementia, and improves memory. It enhances one’s knowledge and vocabulary; recently, I read an article that had the word “finfluencers” (The first “f” undoubtedly stands for funds, funding or finance. Thus, they are influencers – personal coaches and consultants, celebrity billionaires, magnates, moguls and tycoons – who focus on money-related topics).
While reading an article on workplace challenges, I encountered the acronym BOT, “bathroom time off”, a break taken during work time to go to the toilet to avoid responsibilities or chill out in addition to the call of nature. I smiled thinking of the Canadian rock band, BOT, composed of Messrs Bachman, Turner and Overdrive.
A person dear to me passed away last August 25. For two days, my bedtime reading was mixed with nostalgia and tears. I felt his soul/spirit/ghost (whatever you want to call it) grinning every time I skipped paragraphs and turned well-written sentences into non-sense, e.g. “You’ve another thing coming” (meaning – You should think about it again/Rethink your idea) became “You’ve another tank coming”. Reading has been helping me mourn the loss of this beloved human.
If you’re fond of novels and read regularly, you’re developing your analytical skills, as you are forced to assume, predict or make guesses. (I take this bronze opportunity to advertise “The Whisper of Regrets”. Hopefully, you’ll help me convert this into a golden one). If you’re stressed and want something to divert your attention, read (Why not English Language Lovers – Teaching, Learning and Conversing?)
In a nutshell, there are intellectual and health benefits to reading books. “For one who reads, there is no limit to the number of lives that may be lived, for fiction, biography, and history offer an inexhaustible number of lives in many parts of the world, in all periods.”- Louis L’Amour (https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/reading-books seen on 01/09/22)