Living Well: To read or not to read

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

By Teresa Griswold

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-While no two people experience the same book in exactly the same way, compelling writing affects and moves each of us – uniquely.

Books inspire critical thought and conversation, unite friends, clubs and students in shared experience, and though not often considered, contribute to personal and social wellbeing.

Reading even contributes to exercise.

I know that filling my mind with thought-provoking and creative concepts is fulfilling. Transformational books certainly serve as guides, while philosophers expand my thinking. But it’s a good novel that takes me to the far reaches of the world, sets me loose on adventures and experiences, and allows me to walk in other people’s shoes opening me up to new perspectives.

Dr. Mimi Guarneri, who was here for the Teton Wellness Festival recently, said literature and medicine are not mutually exclusive. Though she holds a doctorate in medicine, she earned her undergraduate degree in English lit.

“I love literature, so majoring in English was an opportunity to read all the literature that I loved,” she said. “And to me they’re not mutually exclusive. You should be well-rounded. We should be able to do both.”

In fact, the American Medical Student Association says on their Web site, “It takes more than medical school to make a physician.” The site has a “Medical Student Well-Being Reading List” that recommends contemporary fiction, self-help, and medically-related books including titles like The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and The Tibetan Book on Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche.

Reading books not only helps us stay well-rounded, I find it’s a good way just to relax, especially in the evenings. Rather than staying connected to electronic devices like the telephone, television and Internet, it is calming to hold a book of words that hold fact and fantasy, knowledge and truth within them. I think that is why our children enjoy bedtime stories before nodding off to sleep. As adults, we should take note.

Research shows reading inspires volunteerism and even – exercise. Two National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) studies (2004 and 2007) show that readers are more active participants in the world around them than non-readers. Literary readers are “much more likely to be involved in cultural, sports and volunteer activities than are non-readers,” the 2004 study showed.

For example, literary readers were nearly three times as likely to attend a performing arts event, almost four times as likely to visit an art museum, more than two-and-a-half times as likely to do volunteer or charity work, and more than one-and-a-half times as likely to attend or participate in sports activities, according to the study.

The 2007 study showed that “advanced readers accrue personal, professional, and social advantages,” and “literary readers are more likely than non-readers to engage in positive civic and individual activities – such as volunteering, attending sports or cultural events, and exercising.”

That alone is a reminder for us to consider more mindfully how we spend our time, since those choices – to read, or not to read – affect us not only individually, but collectively. JHW

COURTESY PHOTO
A good novel opens your world to new perspectives.

PERMALINK:
Living Well: To read or not to read | Planet JH News Article: Living Well

Leave a Comment