by Zoe Puzio: Staff Writer
When was the last time you read a book? And I’m not talking about something from Instagram or some sort of social media platform, I’m talking about a novel, online or paperback.
Over the past couple of years, the art and hobby of reading has decreased significantly. Most of the population in schools only ever reads when it’s a book for your English class.
Most people use the excuse, “I can’t find anything I like.” or “Reading just isn’t for me.” but that isn’t true. It just means that you haven’t found your book yet. But while reading “might not be your thing,” It’s scientifically proven that people who read have reduced stress levels, better memory, better vocabulary, more knowledge, and more imagination and creativity than a person who doesn’t read. Proved and said so by Emanuele Castano, a psychologist at a social research center in New York.
Not to mention that people who read 10 or more books that aren’t for school can end up making 21% more money than someone who doesn’t in the future. It also exercises your brain, is entertaining for no cost at all, can improve your focusing level, improves your sleep, and it’s motivational.
As a reader myself, I have many recommendations. But one of my personal favorites is the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Myer.
This is a series I would recommend for people the ages of 13-18 or grades 8-12. But of course, it’s always a good series for anyone who is a fan of sci-fi and classic fairy tales.
It’s a 4-book long series with 2 spin-offs, and while I know that seems like that, once you read one, they’re hard to fall out of and you won’t want to stop reading them.
The first book starts with “Cinder.” A twist on the classic story “Cinderella,” published in January 2012. Then it moves into “Scarlet” based on Red Riding Hood, then “Cress” which is based on Rapunzel, and is finished with “Winter” based off of Snow White. Plus the 2 spin-offs, “Fairest” coming from the tale of the Evil Queen, and “Stars Above”, the Little Mermaid, were thrown into the mix.
While this series is fun and action-packed, there are of course people who love themselves a good slow book, something like a romantic novel. And for these people, I would recommend Sarag Adams and Collen Hoover. Most people know Colleen Hoover for her most famous book “It Ends with Us”. But there is so much more to her artistry such as “Ugly Love”, “Maybe Someday” and “November 9th”.
Both write romance but while Sarah Adams focuses on romantic comedies, such as “The Cheat Sheet”, Colleen Hoover writes more young adult romance novels.
There truly is a book for everyone, we just have to look. We have plenty of resources, such as Anything library, and even our own schools. Both have a remarkable number of paper book just waiting to be read. However, people forget that reading a book doesn’t always mean reading a physical book. You can find just as many books online as you can in a library or bookstore.
You may not think that reading is for you but like I said, you just haven’t found YOUR book yet, so keep looking.