Interview: Reading

I prefer printed books, even though e-books are more convenient. There's something about turning real pages and seeing my progress that keeps me motivated. Also, paper doesn't strain my eyes, and it never runs out of battery. That said, when I travel, I happily switch to an e-reader because carrying five books is impossible. So paper wins at home, and digital wins on the road.

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I only partly agree, because it depends on what we count as reading. It's true that fewer young people read long printed novels for pleasure. However, they read constantly on their phones: articles, messages, comments, and online stories. The real problem, in my view, is not the amount of reading but its depth. Short texts are fine, but they rarely build the patience that long books develop.

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One book that really stayed with me is a biography of a young doctor who worked in poor villages. What struck me most was how he kept helping people even when he had almost no equipment or medicine. Reading it made me rethink my own complaints about small problems. It also inspired me to volunteer at a local clinic. A good book, I realized, can quietly change your direction.

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People say that because fiction exercises abilities we use every day. When you follow a story, you constantly imagine what characters are thinking and feeling, and that strengthens empathy. Fiction also builds vocabulary and concentration in a way that feels effortless, because you want to know what happens next. In other words, a novel is like a gym for the imagination and for social understanding.

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