Why You Should Write About the Books You’ve Read

A single book can change a life.

Os.me is replete with people who have read If Truth Be Told and having their lives changed in ways they couldn’t have imagined. I’m one of them – I read If Truth Be Told in 2014 December, which is the reason I’m here on os.me today.

I’ve written about how non-fiction books changed my life. I’ve not written a lot about my childhood love affair with fiction books, but fiction helped me build my reading muscles. 

Os.me is replete with people who are avid readers. A few folks have written amazing book reviews and other articles about books on this platform. I’ve benefited greatly from some of these recommendations. 

May I suggest that you write articles about the books that you love? 

Your take on the book reflects your unique viewpoints based on your world view. Nobody else is qualified to write about your take on your books.

That’s right – You are the only person qualified to write about your take on books.

Obvious, yet not-so-obvious.

Here are 5 reasons why you should write about your favorite books.

1 — You Share Your Unique Perspective About the Book

You like Atomic Habits. So do I.

Our perspectives about the book are going to be very different.

Even if I’ve written a viral article on this book (I haven’t, if you’re curious), your article will provide a completely different perspective.

Even if one reader resonates well with your perspective, it is mission accomplished.

2 — You Combine the Knowledge of the Book with Your Experiences

And the reason you possess a unique perspective of the book is because you have a unique world view based on your life experiences.

When your life experiences interact with the knowledge from the book, a unique chemical reaction takes place. And nobody can predict what ideas will get generated from this chemical reaction. 

When you choose to write about the book, you are performing an act of generosity — you are, in essence, reporting the results of the chemical reactions for the benefit of the world.

3 — Your Words and Book Recommendation Can Make a Difference to Another Person’s Life

From your perspective, writing an article about your favorite book(s) may be a simple act of sharing your favorite reads.

Your article may make a huge difference to the reader — it may change their life. And we can never find this out until you write the article and the reader reads your article.

There are several books that are life-transforming but the reader who needs to read it may not have heard of the book.

Your article serves as the connecting link — you connect a good book with the reader who needs to read the book.

4 — It is Fun!

What can be better than reading a great book?

Writing about the book, of course. You get to relive the experience of reading the book. You revisit the parts of the book that you think are important and subsequently reinforce your learning. You get to experience those ‘aha’ moments twice — once while reading and the second time when you write about it.

Writing about things you know is an enjoyable experience. You get to add your unique spin to the article. You get to combine information from multiple books and do an amalgamation.

Go ahead and enjoy writing about your favorite books!

5 — It Clarifies the Thoughts and Ideas in Your Head

The teacher learns more than the student. The author learns more than the reader. The speaker learns more than the attendee. The way to learn is by doing. — James Clear

This James Clear quote says it all.

A great way to clarify the thoughts and ideas in the book is to summarize it. And when you have to share the summary with the world, a special sort of accountability and seriousness arises.

Swami Chinmayananda would tell his disciples that when they deliver discourses, they are not educating the world — they are loudly reflecting on the material, with the world overhearing the reflection. The same can be said of book reviews and articles about your favorite books — you are loudly ruminating on the ideas of the book while generously offering a glimpse of your ruminations to the world.

Concluding Thoughts

Most of the books I have read have been recommended from various sources — by friends, other books etc.

I intend to pay it forward by recommending the books I like.

I encourage you to write about your favorite books — even if the above 5 reasons don’t resonate with you, here is another reason why you should write about the book: Why not? What do you lose by writing about the book?

Go ahead and write an article about the book and press publish! I, for one, look forward to reading your article.

Image Credit: Thought Catalog from Unsplash