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/lit/ - Literature

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17141072 No.17141072 [Reply] [Original]

Have you noticed any benefits of reading? How much do you read? I am depressed and am curious if reading would help me (especially if I do that instead of going on my phone).

>> No.17141100

>>17141072
It might help, but it also might make it work. You should get into energy healing if you want to cure your depression

>> No.17141109
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17141109

There are tons of scientific benefits to reading that you can look up easily. But more interesting is how reading can affect the way you think. It can increase your vocabulary, expand your imagination, and give you knowledge. And there's nothing to lose by giving it a try!

>> No.17141117

>>17141072
A lot of people think of reading as an escape from the real world and a way to stop thinking about everything that is troubling you for a little while and just experience an amazing story.

I can see that as a very worthwhile benefit and feel it would be good for someone in your position, though this mostly applies to reading fiction. As for myself, I read quite a lot due to having an interest in literature for about as long as I can remember.

I hope you eventually find some solace in literature.

>> No.17141121

I'm less anxious, depressed and impulsive. I also feel much more empathetic towards other people.

>> No.17141132

>>17141100
Energy healing? Like physically getting more energy or is this spiritual you mean? I dont want to get into any spiritual stuff

>> No.17141149

>>17141072
Make sure you get enough vitamin D op :)

>> No.17141217

How many months till you would see results from reading would you guys guess?

>> No.17141269

>>17141217
That really depends on what you're reading, how much you are reading and what you exactly expect to gain from doing all that reading.

>> No.17141907

>>17141072
Any benefits that may come with reading depend on why you're reading in the first place. Some read for simple enjoyment, some try to escape the world a la porn, games, drugs, et cetera, or maybe you just want to explore new ideas and perspectives. Nowadays I read the works of dead philosophers 90% of the time. I enjoy thinking and over analyzing so reading and pondering is a good pastime for me.

>> No.17141946

I've found that its helped me to more eloquently express my thoughts and increased my vocabulary

>> No.17142035

>>17141072
It’s given me new ideas about things I’ve thought about, and also I’m more open towards the idea of dying, but I’m enjoying my life as of now, so I probably won’t do that

>> No.17142082

I dont know what's wrong with me, I think I am tired or depressed but it might my a psychological issue instead. Idk, but I want to feel joy and excitement for life, I feel awful all the time like everything is work.

>> No.17142094

>>17141072
i dislike adults who read YA now

>> No.17142114

>>17141072
It won't make you less depressed but it might make you ever so slightly smarter (in a well read sense) and more interesting as a person. Plus you know the reason I do it which is bragging rights and to rub in people's faces how much better you are than them

>> No.17142127

No.
I could have been a simple racist conservative like everyone in the family, but instead I read books and now I have several conflicting beliefs and opinions that cannot be reconciled.

>> No.17142756

>>17141072
i´am still in school , and i can cleanly tell when someone reads , there is a big difference between those who read and don´t read .
be the way i also can tell when someone reads things like ya or feminist bullshit.

>> No.17142778

Just reading will not help with depression. Doing active things, seeking actual help and reading can help you, though.

>> No.17142788

>>17142756
there a big gap between the different groups , those that don´t read can not think independently , and i am serious everything that the say is basically what media or they favorite politician/celebrity says .

>> No.17142836

>>17142788
but there is also another group , that read but only reads bullshit like self-help and ya , but want bothers me about them is that , they usually a girl who think that they smarter than others , but in the end are not different , and sometimes even worse , i already have see those girls acting like true npcs , and demanding things that they considered as "rights" , stuff like free tampons and more bolsa familia (is a social program from my country).

>> No.17142853

>>17141072
Reading ethical egoists has made me more happy, more assertive, and much more critical of things.

>> No.17142858

>>17142836
Puta que pariu, vai aprender a escrever primeiro, arrombado.

>> No.17142865

>>17141072
Im a pseud now

>> No.17142870

>>17141072
Now instead of being depressed, I am philosophically pessimistic, which is more erudite.

>> No.17142874

>>17141072
Reading smart people thinking the same stuff as me makes me feel validated

>> No.17143092

>>17141072
Tons. My mind feels broader and i started developing interests in things that were on the periphery of my mind. I read maybe 30 pages a day or so. The main thing i noticed though is that it has further isolated me from everyone else. Its getting worse as i get older. In school it was just a bad attitude with an above average IQ. Then i left the shithole place i grew up and went to the #1 uni in my country (top 100 worldwide) i changed country and learned a second language and then came back. Now i read literature, philosophy and theology. Sorry for the blog but i feel so fucking alone bros. The benefits of reading are manifold but it all just feels like im adding another floor to my tower of babel. Sometimes it comes crashing down and everyone around me speaks in a language i cant understand. Or perhaps im the one speaking foreign? If i focus on the self i can appreciate all the good, reading and pushing my mediocre mind to its limit, has done. When i finally exit the ether of my mind and look around me i fall into despair. I had to explain to a close friend recently who dostoevsky was. Has anyone else experienced this? Am i just becoming misanthropic? Or am i just being an over emotional faggot who should talk about the banal shit that those around me enjoy?

>> No.17143307

reading destroyed my life. i started when i was 11 y/o and used to spend around 9 hours per day reading alone in my room. i stopped at 20 y/o when i realized i had no friends and nobody could understand me when i was talking because i never talked, lost practice and my mouth didnt open accordingly or my tongue produced weird sounds. i stopped for 1 year but failed at fixing my life so i went back into reading as a cope/escapism mechanism

>> No.17143326

There is a really powerful feeling of connection you get with some authors that can be as strong as some real friendships, it makes you feel less alone in the world when someone agrees with you on the issues of existence, when someone else "gets it".

>> No.17143327

>>17143092
Work on your emotional intelligence you pseud sperg

>> No.17143351

>>17141072
Reading will bring you further from some groups of people and closer to others.

>> No.17143365

>>17143092
See: >>17143351
You're doing/have done the intellectual equivalent of getting in shape while all your out of shape and fat friends haven't done the same. You've changed. Find people more like you. They'll be rarer by definition, but not as much as you think.

>> No.17143414

>>17141072
reading hasn't made me less depressed
but it has taught me a lot of new words to explore and express depression with

>> No.17143624

It's been great, since I got into /lit/ I read a lot more than I previously had and it has made life much more enjoyable. Socrates and psychoanalysis help me making other people seethe when discussing pretty much anything and I weekly cry tears of joy reading works as Faust and IJ. Thank you bros

>> No.17143693

It will fundamentally change you as a person. First against your will, and then in accordance with it.

>> No.17143697

>>17141072
Smarter but more miserable and confused

>> No.17143722

>>17141217
I’ll just say that if you approach reading as some sort of homeopathic elixir for improving your life, you entirely misunderstand the point, and you’re going to hate doing it. There is no timeline for when and how it’s going to improve your character and psyche. You need to read for the love of reading. Everything else is secondary

>> No.17143746

>>17141132
>I don't want to get into spiritual stuff
You should start thinking about that now, or you will be bouncing around from one way of thinking to the next in an ultimately fruitless journey

>> No.17143862

>>17143327
My emotional intelligence is my strongest suit. I can tell the emotions of my friends by the micro expressions of their face. I can tell when my fiancee is upset without really understanding why i know. Im empathetic to the point of ridiculousness.

>>17143365
I tried this and i really only met two types of people. The first was a specialist. Someone who knew a great deal on a topic but only that topic. Take literature for example. I met a small group of guys and we spent months discussing various authors and works and i have no shame in admitting i was the least among them. Inevitably conversations would lead to tangents and i slowly began to realise that they only really understood literature and very little else. For instance, after discussing Sun & Steel by Mishima i began bringing up my own experiences gradually becoming fit and how it helped me to better understand the philosophy of the book. It was instantaneously clear that they understood nothing. A similar thing happened with gym bros. We would workout together and when asked what made me start working i stated simply i was inspired by a type of philosophy called stoicism. It raised some eyebrows but they didnt inquire further so i dropped it. That happened several other times and i realised that they too, only understood fitness

The second type of person is basically mastabatory intellectualism. "The rational mind has a tendency to fall in love with itself" as i look back at my time with those mensa types and people with absurdly high IQ the main thing i recall is how revolting their personalities are. Most times we engaged in discourse or i simply observed a discussion between two others it often seemed like they were playing a game of chess rather than enjoying each others company. With each point made the euphoria of having outmanoeuvered their opponent was clear on their faces. What made my skin crawl though, was the contempt for the normal person. 80% of the time it was either ego stroking or vicious attacks on generalised groups ( im aware i can be accused of doing the same in this blog post). When i started to notice myself taking a similar stance i left them all behind. Toxic was a good word before it was politically loaded.

So heres where i find myself, screaming into the abyss of an atlantean fish farming forum trying to ease the crushing loneliness i feel

>> No.17143903

>>17141072
it gave me a way better vocabulary and better imagination, for sure. But also it gave me this sort of spiritual yearning that is really hard to talk about with people without sounding like I'm trying too hard or sniffing my own farts. I'd say reading made me more self conscious. But the spiritual thing is really set off by certain spaces around the city I grew up in and old buildings like churches and things

>> No.17143934

>>17142865
me too, it's better than being an ignoramus

>> No.17143946

>>17143307
bro you should keep at it because you have a good shot at becoming patrician as fuck. take a degree or something

>> No.17143949

>>17143862
>My emotional intelligence is my strongest suit.
I find that very hard to believe. If you actually had emotional intelligence you wouldn’t be blog posting about how reading books has made you unrelatable to your friends and how poorly you connect with others because of books. It’s not books, homie.

>> No.17143965

>>17142836
Acabou de me descrever. Gosto de ler ficção (qualquer merda tá bom) e romance pra dar uma escapada da vida real. Entrei nessa merda aqui e o pessoal tá muito além do que meu cérebro de macaco aguenta processar. Bom achar um BR.

>> No.17143991

>>17141109
wholesome blessed post

>> No.17144025

>>17141072
I've been reading my entire life and so I have nothing to compare it to. So I'm better than you as well, don't forget it.

>> No.17144067
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17144067

>>17141109
This is the nicest post i've ever read on 4chan. You are an angel amongst many demons.

>> No.17144106

>>17141072
I started seriously reading late in high school and I feel more wisened. Reading classic fiction gives you insight into psychology and philosophy. Just make sure you live your life and leave reading as a leisure activity.

>> No.17144663

>>17143949
My friends dont find me unrelatable. Its the other way around. I can easily step into their shoes and empathise or understand their interests and hobbies no matter how tedious i find it all sometimes. Also its not just books as ive explained. If it were just books i would have been happy with the lit group i had. I think my friends/family/fiancee feel great warmth from our relationship and i often do too but theres is this ever growing side of me that lives in complete isolation and although a certain part can be nurtured by others it can never be entirely encapsulated. Thats very poorly worded i know but its the best i can do

>> No.17144686

It gave my life meaning. Art is the only thing worth living for.

>> No.17144720

>>17141072
Philosophy and a classical education has definitely helped with my depression. So has lifting weights, running, and setting high goals and achieving them. Also, self-help books that teach you how to manage and save money.

>> No.17144770

>>17141072
reading helps a lot but work out first that'll actually solve your problems + vitamin d pills

>> No.17144798

>>17144663
If that is the case, go see a therapist if you’re experiencing increasing emotional isolation from reading books

>> No.17144939

>>17144798
I dont how many more times i can say its not just books for you to simply ignore it

>> No.17145015

>>17144939
Get therapy schizo

>> No.17145056

>>17141072
Just start with something like Candide.

If holding up a book makes you feel larpy then feel larpy for a few weeks.

Divide amount of pages by 7 and try to read some every day.

Only read what interests you.

>> No.17145084

It stopped me being a dumb atheist fag who thinks "hurr world full of suffering" is profound

>> No.17145652

>>17143307
>>17143946
Unironically this, become the underground man irl

>> No.17145690

>>17141072
I read because it “humanizes” me, if that makes sense. Passages like Sonetchka reading the Resurrection of Lazarus to Raskolnikof in Crime and Punishment. That is why I read.

>> No.17145700

>Have you noticed any benefits of reading?
No.

>> No.17145745

>>17143092
>I had to explain to a close friend recently who dostoevsky was. Has anyone else experienced this? Am i just becoming misanthropic?
Same, but you would be surprised at how contagious enthusiasm is. I have convinced a bunch of friends to read Dostoevski, most of which don’t read at all. Themes such as guilt are profound, yes, but also universal and deeply personal for everyone. People are naturally attracted to it.

>> No.17145754

>>17141072
I have the language to describe what I like and dislike better

>> No.17145778
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17145778

>> No.17145799

>>17141072
I believe it was Hrabal who said something along the lines of "The good book will make you get up and have a walk in the nature."

I also see literature as a sort of "prompt" to do or not do things, or to think or not to think.
And then, some lit is just joy to read.

>> No.17146086
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17146086

>>17143307
i kinda have the same issue with my mouth and tongue. I used to speak pretty well until i stopped going to school at age 13 and then it just all degraded. Some days i talk normally but i sometimes have retard days. Like i cannot enunciate words properly, slur speech, and i splice sentences( i want to say "im going to the store" but half way through saying it i want to say "im gonna go to the store" so it turns out to "im goinna go to the store", if that makes sense) Any anons know how to fix this or am i fucked. its super fucking embarrassing and it makes me real quiet irl

>> No.17147318

>>17141072
It's definitely made me 'weirder' by most standards (not that I was ever normal). I spend far less time on social media, web-surfing, anime, and message boards (except /lit/). I have forgone some social things because the time would be better spend reading. But it's nice to have things that draw you in like that.

People see my eyes light up when I talk about the interesting things that i am reading and thinking about. The threads I can now draw through ideas and thinkers, and ideas I have of my own. I think reading permits a broad and deep expansion of knowledge and enthusiasm. Paying attention to what the author does at the sentence, paragraph, and plot level can go a long way in helping one understand how language and narrative work, which is a powerful tool.

I think there is a huge benefit in that you feel like (and are!) actually doing something rather than consuming (but you still are consuming!). Reading allows a lot of reflection and thinking that other forms of media do not. There is a reason why it has been around since the beginning of history, and will be around until after the end of history.

OP make sure you have a physical hobby too. Running, cycling, hiking, tennis...anything. It's amazing how I've seen people's lives improve once they start being active and reading more. Make both a routine - I run first thing in the morning and read immediately after work.

A last thing - I recently met a really awesome girl (bc I run a lot and am weird enough that people remember me) who seems to be very impressed that I read and write a lot (and she does too!):
>"Wow Anon - I've never met anyone else who knows Rabelais - I'm impressed"
>"I'M impressed, anon-ette, I'VE never met anyone else who knows Rabelais"
Let's hope this is the start to something...

>>17141109
This is great stuff too!
>>17141117
I'm really against escapism and view reading as a way to understand and make sense of the 'real world'...A friend asked if reading relaxes me and I said no - but I rarely want to relax. It's something to be passionate about. and with this passion you can search for your own meaning in life, instead of avoiding it.
>>17143351
This is a great way to say it. Way closer with a few friends and my brother. Further from a lot of other friends and family. Has allowed instant connection with some people (not based around books) and instant disconnection from others.
>>17145778
This is nice

>> No.17147479

>>17143307
Can't you just read out loud? Literally join a book club and start writing your thoughts in a journal, and think about what you're going to say before you say it instead of saying whatever comes to mind like a sperg

>> No.17147605

>>17143862
sounds like your whole identity is based on books and being a pseud. Don't you ever just want to act like a dog with the the lads? Just boot a ball about in a park, or crack jokes, or talk about shagging birds, or just go out and get drunk as fuck?

Most here will label that sort of thing as degerate, but the truth is, you can satisfy all you pseud-aspirations in private or on anonymous messageboards, and in public, just be one of the lads. But you probably see that as being beneath you, and is why you deserve a life of asocial misery.

>> No.17147731

>>17142858 aprendendo a lingua ainda.

>> No.17147782

>>17143307
Holy based