Sunday thoughts - Page 3

Originally posted by: Joannna

The Palace of Ilusions - Chitra Bannerjee Divakurani

Thank you! I loved Sister of my Heart by Chitra. Read it more than a decade back but it has stuck! Will check this one out.

Originally posted by: Supari_khala

Any book recommendations for someone trying to ease back into reading for fun again?

You can never go wrong with Young Adult (YA). Just go to your local bookstore and pick up something from the YA section that strikes your fancy. I enjoy fantasy or dystopian books. But the YA coming-of-age and romances are super duper cute.

You're right. I used to love reading. I used to devour books, constantly craving more and more hungrily. But then, of late, my attention span has waned, and I watch more TV. Reading has many benefits - including improved brain function and reduced dementia/Alzheimer's risks.

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I wouldn't completely dismiss visual mediums or technology. Visual mediums have made a huge difference for people with learning or reading disabilities. There is also a universality to a visual medium. Instead of instructions in a dozen world languages that ignore many others, IKEA instructions are illustrations anyone can understand, irrespective of their literacy or language.

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There's a lot of progress being made in the video games area, where video games also provide rich learning experiences. Many games have elaborate worlds, lots of lore, dialogue, and backstory that require reading or logic puzzles etc. There's also the whole area of visual novels.

Games, graphic novels, and comic books can serve as a happy medium between reading and visual engagement. They're especially useful for people with aphantasia who cannot visualize things.