Yesterday when I lay asleep, a magical force lifted me from my bed and I found myself floating towards the skies rapidly. I saw the pale blue sphere that I was leaving behind. Earth never looked so magical before. I took a spin around the moon and marveled at the craters. I passed through the rings of Saturn and played hopscotch on the red soil of Mars. I made a snowman on the icy surface of Neptune. I saw the Milky Way from afar and was awestruck by the vast expanse of our Universe. I rode on the meteors that went whooshing by and saw pulsars and quasars. I almost got sucked into a black hole but pull myself away in time.I danced on the glowing surface of Venus and visited mercury.I took a spin around the sun without a single hair singed.After witnessing all the beautiful sight,I started feeling homesick. I slowly drifted back to the pale blue planet that we call home.Full of memories from the visit,I hoped to take another trip soon.Soon I was laid back on my bed and I drifted back into sleep.
Fiction is an illusion of the real world and the stories depict us as the reflection of the society, where the characters narrate somewhere in the minds of the readers and make them feel as if it’s their own story portrayed.
As an ardent bibliophile, I get fantasized reading those fictional books which have those themes of love, trust, rebounding, etc. certain books in popular fiction namely as such, Funny Boy, The Handmaid’s Tale, have these feministic approaches applied in it.
Profoundly, fiction and the fictional characters showcase in the books is the harsh reality of society which is dwelled up in sugary coated form and presented to the readers.
Whether it is taking the example of the well-known melancholic romantic classic novel: “The Wuthering Heights” where the story doesn’t only show us a typical class distinction love story but also gives us the real facts about the medieval 18th century of the Victorian age.
Factually the 18th-century novel is still loved by the readers and left an imprint of so-called the situation of women at that time.
Any fiction is a source of information of age and transfers the knowledge to the global readers of all generations. Decade by decade those stories remain like a classic grandma’s tale whoever reads it. Those fictional characters emotionally get connected with the readers and give them a sense of realization of their situation.
The depth of fictional stories is such that it gets attached to the readers and makes them feel that they are among them. The power of Arjie (in THE FUNNY BOY) made the readers feel that how a 12yr old Gay boy feels, how he was perplexed and abashed within his own identity and how Arjie made his readers feel his pain. Many readers like Arjie who battle with their identity crisis every day, got a realization that one must be never ashamed of themselves, rather one should be proud of who one is and their originality is the best and purest unique thing which makes them beautiful in there own way.
The youngsters in general, who live a non-plussed life, often prefer to live in these fictional worlds and engross themselves in these stories like a dreamer who wanders on an unknown island without any purpose but finds a destination end.
The readers live the story when they read those stories, the philanthropic deeds of the characters make a reader see the real world. Fictional stories have always been the best media through which writers sends this message to their readers that, the world is still a beautiful place to live and one must never lose hope like Harry Potter who had a miserable childhood but when he went to the school of Hogwarts, his life became beautiful and reason to live.
The inevitable vague ideas and situations are also portrayed beautifully. Fiction is like an ocean which is vast as such precious and the characters are the mermaid which is still a mystery and the stories are like pearls that are present somewhere but lost in the ocean.
Metaphor is that the relevancy of the fictional books is sometimes not conveyed to the outer world and misunderstood by many of the readers, but still, the beauty lies within the oceanic, fictional book.
I can never agree with people who say watching a movie or series is better than reading a book. While watching a movie, we are just looking at a projection of the film. We are not using our imagination.
I have read the divergent series by Veronica Roth. It also has a movie trilogy. Well, the movie is a disappointment to what the book portrays. The book has so much more details which the movie fails to show.
Books allow us to create our own imagination. They talk about the prominent features of their characters like the almond-shaped caramel eyes and the brown hair with a tint of waves and a well-defined jaw of the person. They leave it on us to decide how the person looks. They describe the cottage with a warm and cozy fireplace but do not provide us with how the cottage looks.
Books allow us to create a world of our choice. Every person reading the book would imagine their world differently. I started reading books as an escape from reality. When I was going through a hard time in my life, books became my best friends. No matter how bad my day was, I was always looking forward to start reading. It made me forget about my life because books allow us to live the life of the characters of fiction. Their life would become mine till I completed the book. At the end of every book, I would feel happy and sad at the same time. I felt sad because I never wanted the book to end. Happy because I get to live the life of another character when I start my next book.
Now you see books are an escape from reality, but they are a good escape. Reading books comes with a lot of benefits:
Improving vocabulary: when I started reading, I would make sure to find the meaning of every word that I was unaware of. For me, reading is incomplete without knowing what every word means.
Improves creativity: A person reading a book isn’t just reading literature words. An entire world of imagination is going on in their minds.
The best form of entertainment: it is better than looking at your screens for hours.
Creates a sense of understanding: when we read a book where the character has anxiety. It will make us understand how people around us with anxiety would feel like.
Inspires us: I have read books where the main characters do not give up, no matter how many problems come their way. This has honestly inspired me a lot in my life.
Makes us a better writer: reading makes our brain absorb the vocabulary and grammar required for better writing skills.
You must have also noticed that talking to people who read has always been interesting. People who read have a lot to share with the world. I remember talking to a few people who read a lot and our conversation never dies down. Reading also reduces stress and boosts our mood instantly. I want to end with my favorite quote by Mason Cooley
“Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are”
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