AfterBurn

I'm pretty bored at the moment and I've been thinking, what are some benifits of reading? What's the difference between like reading a book and watching tv or listening to an audio book?

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Evil Milkman

I've never listened to audio books, but reading is a lot more detailed in some ways than watching T.V. You get the chance to really get in the character's mind and how they're thinking. Events seem to happen both slower and faster at the same time. It's also good just to sit down and relax with a good book.

bltzkriegmcanon

Ain't that the damn truth. The incredible imagery and depth that most books have just make it more enjoyable than watching TV.

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messy

REEDING SUX!

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KellyC

What Milkman said.
Also, one importantadvantage reading have over movies, tv is that reading will not disapoint the reader. Movies and tv tend to kill the reader's imagination. I've been disapointed many a times when I go see a movie thats based on a book. Only to be pissed that its not as good as I'd imagined it to be.

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philosopherking

The best thing about reading is your imagination is allowed to go nuts. You can picture things the way you like them a lot better than somebody in a TV studio can. Also, another benefit is that reading a book is a lot more accessable, you can take them just about anywhere.

Plan9Senior

Not only that but when you reflect on a book you read, you imagine the images that came from your imagination and not what some director thought you should see. Movies are great, however, they cannot hold a candle to a good book.

Reese

For me, I read mainly because there's a huge supply of books in the genres that I like. Your imigination is the limit - Things are more grand, more beautiful, or more terrifying than something that can ever be portrayed in movies. Movies are a quick fix, and books are something that can keep you thinking about them for a very long time after you've finished them.

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WarWagon

I prefer to read, largely because I'd rather form my own interpretations and opinions, rather than be given someone else's interpretation and opinions.

Gortexfogg

I think reading is more of a workout for your brain than TV. When you read you become a more well rounded person and maybe even learn some new vocabulary. Also, reading is extremely portable.

Nancy

reading allows you to recognize words/letters quickly which will make you be able to read faster

it'll also improve your spelling

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Charlatan

Television and films are passive media, you sit and consume them and have no active agency in its creation.

Books are an active medium, in order to engage in a book fully you muct actively complete the text with your own imaginative abilities.

Add to this the fact that almost all television and much of film today are all about selling you products. This is much less that case when it comes to books.

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Tophat665

Frankly, I like reading because it's quiet. I can listen to music and read at the same time, and I can also read and abosrb the rare moments of peace and quiet I get in a house with two daughters. (Pronounce like laughter and you'll get the picture.)

Also, movies (with a few notable exceptions) are 2 or 3 hours long. A good book can last me days (at least a whole day). If every bit of a good book were put in a movie, the movie would be at least 6 hours long. Further, books can impart information that just doesn't make good film.

I have nothing to say about audio books.

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Sleepyjack

It also does wonders for your own ability to express ideas/feelings etc to communicate with and understand others, better

diddagirl

Reading leaves more to the imagination....I dont think you are up for quite as much dissapointment as you potentially are with movies/tv.

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Untitled

Also, with reading, you're open to so many more interpretations... not only does it exercise your imagination, but it makes you think at the same time...

Nothing is better than a good book.. nothing can give you the same emotions, because a movie or an audio tape is already filled with someone else's interpretation.

Given the choice... always pick reading...

(plus, its easily transportable. Great for the bus/ bus stop for us poor university students)

Kaos

When you read, you get to use your imagination and envision the characters the way you percieve them to be.

And reading is fundamental

Date the Banana

Not to mention that books are the best medium for those who are deaf. For the blind; braille. I'm as big of a fan of technology as the next guy, but nothing beats reading for your entertainment needs!

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BuddyHawks

Movies (when well made) can be just as emotionally stirring, thought provoking, and entertaining as anything else.

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frankx

If I watch something on TV, I get what the creator of the show has pre-packaged the way they want me to see it. If I read a book, I am able to exercise my imagination, and that to me is infinitely more valuable.

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iccky

Plus books have no commercials.

Seriously, this is one of my biggest gripes with TV. A study by Harvard Sociologist Juliet Schor found that every hour of TV you watch per week, on average, increases the amount of money you spend by $208 a year, controling for income and a bunch of other factors. So someone who watches an average of 14 hours a week (2 a day) spends $2912 more a year then someone with the same income who watched no TV.

It deadens your mind and then indoctrinates you into our national religion of commercialism.