While reading, we always wonder whether we are enjoying doing it or not. The majority of times, when people ask us: “Did you enjoy that book that I lent you?” or “Sorry, do you think that Terry Brooks’ new novel was nice?”, we answer “Yeah, it was good” or “I don’t know, maybe yes…” without caring a lot about the question. But can a piece of paper actually change someone’s life? This is what we are going to discuss in today’s article, so if you wish to find the perfect lecture, this post can provide you some tips for your research.
At first, every time we read something we do it for a particular reason, which can be different for all of us. Are you a little bit unsure about making friendships? A novel about people establishing a brotherly bond like The Interestings (2013) by Meg Wolitzer could help you become less shy and develop long-term relationships. Do you have to make an important decision but you don’t know which choice would be the best? Smart Choices: A Practical Guide to Making Better Decisions (1998) by John S. Hammond, Ralph L. Keeney and Howard Raiffa can explain to you how you can act when facing important steps in your life, like buying a house or changing your career. Or even, are you keen on adventure, interested in science and nature and with a high wish to escape from the real world? In this case, you will surely enjoy Professor Arronax, Conseil, Ned Land and Captain Nemo’s adventures in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (published in English in 1872) by the French author Jules Verne. And of course, there are lots of other possibilities, but remember that the final choice is only yours.
But books don’t just suggest how to behave in particular situations or help us disconnect from reality and discover new, fictional worlds. In fact, sometimes they can also reveal who we are, both as individuals and in relation to society. For example, Momo (1973), a fantasy novel by the German writer Michael Ende, narrates the struggle of a little girl in order to save the other inhabitants of her town from the Men in Grey, the time-thieves. These sad, identical and evil figures constitute a critic against modern consumerism, which causes people to feel alienated and to lose a sense in their lives by becoming obsessed with time and its waste.
Furthermore, The Cold Summer(L’ estate fredda, 2016 ) by the Italian author and ex anti-mafia prosecutor Gianrico Carofiglio provides us an interesting overview about how complicated it is to establish a clear difference between right and wrong while investigating about a violent murder like that of a 14-year-old boy. The difficulty in discovering the truth and in understanding the others’ and our own personality is reflected by characters: Marshal Pietro Fenoglio, the protagonist, is good at his work but disapproves its hierarchy; his colleague Tonino Pellecchia has a controversial past but helps in a decisive way to arrest the responsibles for the terrible crime; Captain Alberto Valente is very formal but seems like not being fit for his role. And finally, it will be discovered that the real murderer is not Vito Lopez, the main suspect for it, but a corrupted and psycho carabineer who planned to put the blame on him. Through this thriller, the author points out that “black and white are abstract concepts. There’s a large grey territory in which you have to move very carefully, because maps are imprecise”. And above all, that evil can be hidden in the most unexpected places.
In addition, when we find ourselves in a difficult or confusing situation, we need support and help. Sometimes, someone can be offered support when he/she listens to other people’s similar experiences and thus, an atmosphere of sympathy and understanding is created. There are various books that report harsh situations but manage actually to help their readers understand that life is short, severe but beautiful at the same time. Some examples of such novels are: “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky (emphasizes on adolescent and physiological problems), “The fault in our stars” by John Green (teenagers facing cancer and death), “They Both Die at the End” by Adam Silvera (comes up with subjects like death and the importance of meeting and understanding other people), as well as many other books.
In conclusion, another quite interesting book is Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking (2012), in which the author, Susan Cain, argues that contemporary society undervalues introvert people because they don’t speak very often, an attitude that can penalise you in a world where the majority of people agree that extroversion is a sign of strength and of an high possibility to make success. But the reality is that even though shy people can seem weaker, less intelligent or determined than the others, they can have surprising skills that they simply don’t usually express in public. But this doesn’t mean they can’t achieve great results: for instance, great personalities, leaders and artists like Chopin, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King were introverted. This means we shouldn’t blame such people, but on the contrary, we should listen to and encourage them to free their ideas and opinions, due to the fact that they can be the driving force behind great changes and improvements in our everyday lives.
Thank you very much for reading this post. If you liked it, please leave a comment at the usual link: https://anamendigain.edublogs.org/ and wait eagerly for our next article, which will be published next week. If you wish more materials and information about how reading can help us to understand ourselves instead, the following images and two videos have been prepared for you.
How reading can help us understand ourselves
While reading, we always wonder whether we are enjoying doing it or not. The majority of times, when people ask us: “Did you enjoy that book that I lent you?” or “Sorry, do you think that Terry Brooks’ new novel was nice?”, we answer “Yeah, it was good” or “I don’t know, maybe yes…” without caring a lot about the question. But can a piece of paper actually change someone’s life? This is what we are going to discuss in today’s article, so if you wish to find the perfect lecture, this post can provide you some tips for your research.
At first, every time we read something we do it for a particular reason, which can be different for all of us. Are you a little bit unsure about making friendships? A novel about people establishing a brotherly bond like The Interestings (2013) by Meg Wolitzer could help you become less shy and develop long-term relationships. Do you have to make an important decision but you don’t know which choice would be the best? Smart Choices: A Practical Guide to Making Better Decisions (1998) by John S. Hammond, Ralph L. Keeney and Howard Raiffa can explain to you how you can act when facing important steps in your life, like buying a house or changing your career. Or even, are you keen on adventure, interested in science and nature and with a high wish to escape from the real world? In this case, you will surely enjoy Professor Arronax, Conseil, Ned Land and Captain Nemo’s adventures in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (published in English in 1872) by the French author Jules Verne. And of course, there are lots of other possibilities, but remember that the final choice is only yours.
But books don’t just suggest how to behave in particular situations or help us disconnect from reality and discover new, fictional worlds. In fact, sometimes they can also reveal who we are, both as individuals and in relation to society. For example, Momo (1973), a fantasy novel by the German writer Michael Ende, narrates the struggle of a little girl in order to save the other inhabitants of her town from the Men in Grey, the time-thieves. These sad, identical and evil figures constitute a critic against modern consumerism, which causes people to feel alienated and to lose a sense in their lives by becoming obsessed with time and its waste.
Furthermore, The Cold Summer (L’ estate fredda, 2016 ) by the Italian author and ex anti-mafia prosecutor Gianrico Carofiglio provides us an interesting overview about how complicated it is to establish a clear difference between right and wrong while investigating about a violent murder like that of a 14-year-old boy. The difficulty in discovering the truth and in understanding the others’ and our own personality is reflected by characters: Marshal Pietro Fenoglio, the protagonist, is good at his work but disapproves its hierarchy; his colleague Tonino Pellecchia has a controversial past but helps in a decisive way to arrest the responsibles for the terrible crime; Captain Alberto Valente is very formal but seems like not being fit for his role. And finally, it will be discovered that the real murderer is not Vito Lopez, the main suspect for it, but a corrupted and psycho carabineer who planned to put the blame on him. Through this thriller, the author points out that “black and white are abstract concepts. There’s a large grey territory in which you have to move very carefully, because maps are imprecise”. And above all, that evil can be hidden in the most unexpected places.
In addition, when we find ourselves in a difficult or confusing situation, we need support and help. Sometimes, someone can be offered support when he/she listens to other people’s similar experiences and thus, an atmosphere of sympathy and understanding is created. There are various books that report harsh situations but manage actually to help their readers understand that life is short, severe but beautiful at the same time. Some examples of such novels are: “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky (emphasizes on adolescent and physiological problems), “The fault in our stars” by John Green (teenagers facing cancer and death), “They Both Die at the End” by Adam Silvera (comes up with subjects like death and the importance of meeting and understanding other people), as well as many other books.
In conclusion, another quite interesting book is Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking (2012), in which the author, Susan Cain, argues that contemporary society undervalues introvert people because they don’t speak very often, an attitude that can penalise you in a world where the majority of people agree that extroversion is a sign of strength and of an high possibility to make success. But the reality is that even though shy people can seem weaker, less intelligent or determined than the others, they can have surprising skills that they simply don’t usually express in public. But this doesn’t mean they can’t achieve great results: for instance, great personalities, leaders and artists like Chopin, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King were introverted. This means we shouldn’t blame such people, but on the contrary, we should listen to and encourage them to free their ideas and opinions, due to the fact that they can be the driving force behind great changes and improvements in our everyday lives.
Thank you very much for reading this post. If you liked it, please leave a comment at the usual link: https://anamendigain.edublogs.org/ and wait eagerly for our next article, which will be published next week. If you wish more materials and information about how reading can help us to understand ourselves instead, the following images and two videos have been prepared for you.
Andrea Gaetano Sequi
June 6, 2021
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