#readabookaday

Books are great, and if you like them go for it. Most of us have been lost in a book from time to time, and that is perfectly OK. I have no issue with reading. 

I do have an issue with people acting as if those who do not read physical books, or even ebooks, are somehow intellectually inferior. As if in order to be smart, you need to read a traditionally published story. I think this is elitist, as there are many a smart person who either can’t read due to blindness or dyslexia, or any other mental or physical ailment. 

I also dislike how people believe that not reading fantasy stories somehow makes you less intelligent than your peers. Or even if you just have a hard time sitting still with a book in for face for hours on end. 

We are all wired differently, and in the modern day, there are many ways to tell a story. 

Different Media

For instance, Video games are not only a visual media but an interactive one. Movies are a great form of storytelling as well. My favorite form of storytelling comes from video games, and I say this as a writer. 

We need to stop acting as if we only experience the world through our eyes. We have other senses as well, and many people are just able to grasp those better. I mean, are you really going to tell me that someone who is blind since birth, and gets all their information from audio is somehow inferior due to HOW they get that information?

Why do we view video games and movies as some inferior form of storytelling as compared to paper-and-ink books?

Different Genre

While learning about different fantasy worlds, or different alternatives to history is great and can open our minds to a realm of possibilities we otherwise could not even imagine, I think we also downplay nonfiction too much. 

The world itself is full of fascinating and indescribable things. Even learning how simple things such as lightning works can help you to form your own stories, or visualize scenes you may have otherwise had issues with. Astronomy is full of fascinating and wondrous things, new planets, nebulae, star formation, even al the way to how a pile of gases collapses to form a protostar. 

History is one thing too. There are many things from historical battles all the way to mythical locations or people that can be discussed but are ignored because we deem other things as more important. Such as our complete ignorance of Irish folklore because Zeus is “far more interesting.”

In the end

It is ultimately up to our individual tastes and preferences how we learn and thrive. Education is something that we should never shun, and we all work on hearing other people’s stories and points of view. 

That said, we should not hold one form of storytelling above all the others. It makes us seem prudish and ignorant of the plights of so many people who just can’t handle it, or can’t read. 

Keep everyone in mind when you talk about storytelling, and try not to make others feel like they aren’t as smart as you, just because they don’t read physical books. 

Thank you for reading this! If you liked it and want to support other free future writings by me, then feel gree to hire me!