7 Reasons Why Books Should Be Your New Best Friend

4 minute read · By Warren Wong

Books are great. They don’t argue with you, they sit still, and don’t judge. Here are 7 reasons why books should be your new best friend. You can still keep your old best friend. Just don’t tell them, they’ve been demoted.

“There is no friend as loyal as a book.” ― Ernest Hemingway

Enjoy.

1. Learning from other’s mistakes

My favorite types of books to read are biographies, and autobiographies. They are usually filled with many success stories, actionable advice, and great anecdotes.

But, I love reading about their failures. Usually it’s pretty obvious, but sometimes you need to read between the lines.

Most often you learn more from your failures than your successes. Why not, learn from others failures so you don’t have to?

“Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live love enough to make them all yourself.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

2. Sharpen your mind

Reading can help with memory retention, neuroplasticity, and increasing your vocabulary. By constantly feeding and nurturing your mind, you are better equipped to take on the world.

Remember, there are hardly any new “problems”, that aren’t written about and answered by a book.

If you want to learn how to deal with relationship problems, there’s a book for that. If you want to find success in the corporate world, there is a book for that. You just have to look.

A great book on relationships is The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman, and a great book on corporate success that I personally love is Extreme Ownership, by Jocko Willink.

“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.” ― Charles W. Eliot

3. De-stress

I find that there is nothing like reading a good novel to de-stress. After a long day, I love burying myself into a novel to transport myself to another world.

There are other ways to de-stress, but most of them are either self-destructive or don’t add any value.

Sometimes even confiding in a friend doesn’t do it. They keep talking on and on and won’t shut up. A book won’t do that.

“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.” ― Groucho Marx

4. Make you a better writer

If you think that being a better writer is lame, then you’re wrong. Writing has been a form of communication for thousands of years. And those who master it can see how it can improve their lot in life.

Whether it’s crafting a witty, intelligent email response to a boss or writing a thank you letter, your words can make a huge difference. Sometimes, even life changing.

“The art of communication is the language of leadership.” — James Humes

5. See the world

Sometimes you’re location dependent — job, kids, or lack the money — but you can still see the world.

Books like Anna Karenina can transport you to a different time, place, and culture. In Anna Karenina you get an in depth look at Russian aristocracy and the coming and goings of the peasantry, the intense romance of a different time, and a political perspective of changing times.

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” ― St. Augustine

6. Be a better leader

You can’t afford to not read as a leader or someone who aspires to be one. You can’t afford to make mistakes that you could have easily avoided by cracking open a book. Although it is necessary to fail, it is not in your interest to do so.

“Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” – Harry S. Truman

7. Change the way you think

Books offer a lot of different viewpoints, arguments, hypotheses, and ways of thinking.

That’s the great thing about them. They don’t just blindly argue with you, because they think they are right. They present facts, thoughts, and dissenting opinions, and leave you to decide. They are neither right or wrong, they just are.

If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking. – Haruki Murakami

Conclusion

If after all this, and you’re still wondering why books should be your new best friend, then you need to go take a cold shower.

If you are looking for places to start reading, I have a recommended reading list, you can find it here.

Moreover, I also write 2 minute book reviews where I go over 3 things: excerpt from the book, my thoughts, and one practical life application.

I recently found this platform where you can search for any type of book and it will give you hundreds of different options to choose from. It’s called Goodreads.com.

You can check out my profile on there which is goodreads.com/warrenwong where it catalogues all the books I’ve read all time. I’m still updating the list as I go along.

And a recent favorite of mine, where I draw a lot of inspiration and book ideas from is Bill Gates own blog, where he does book reviews as well. You can find it here.