Wednesday, December 11, 2024

Other benefits of reading

Books relieve me from idleness, rescue me from company, blunt the edge of my grief. They are the comfort and solitude of my old age.

Montaigne

Montaigne
Montaigne reminds us that reading serves many purposes, and he doesn't even mention what are probably the two main ones: informing us and entertaining us. Let's look at his points one by one:

Relief from idleness — It is very easy to turn on the TV even when there is nothing on that we particularly want to watch or to play a game on our phone or computer. This is how so many of us spend our idle hours, myself included. We think of these activities as relief from work and worry, yet sometimes we need relief even from this kind of relief. Reading gets our minds working again while our tired bodies are at rest.

Rescue from company — Montaigne must have had more courage than I possess. When I have a guest who hangs around too long, I may think about picking up a book, but I refrain. I prefer more subtle hints.

Blunt grief — After my wife died, I had trouble doing any reading at all. Yet eventually I did find Montaigne's point to be true. My books provided distraction when distraction was what i needed.

Comfort in old age — When one is retired and alone, reading does provide comfort. A book can be like a companion one can hold in one's hands. It can help pass the time. It can involve one in the lives of others, even if those others are fictional or dead people from history.

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