Alexandra Plesa
For passionate readers, the act of reading is more than a hobby. It’s a lifestyle.
While you love books, you also long to immerse yourself in fictional worlds.
To learn how other people tick.
To allow your brain a respite from the humdrum of day-to-day life.
Regardless of what type of content you devour, reading has become such a big part of your routine that you can barely remember a time when you didn’t carry a book around.
That’s great! Not only are you expanding your horizons, but you’re a cool human as well.
Because if you’re an avid book reader, you probably have these 8 personality traits.
Which would you say best describes you?
1) Curiosity
Curiosity is what made me rediscover reading as an adult.
I used to read a lot during childhood but stopped during my high school and college years.
Then The Hunger Games movie came out. I went to see it and was mesmerized.
I remember leaving the cinema in awe, desperate to know what happens next to Katniss and Peeta.
So I got home, found the books online, and started reading. I didn’t stop until one week later, when I finished the entire trilogy.
I read at night. I read while I ate. I read during my downtime at work.
I fell in love with the bleak world Suzanne Collins created and with her flawed yet relatable characters.
More importantly, I remembered that reading is fun and it makes you feel and it opens you up to different perspectives.
It’s not like I immediately ordered 50 books online and made my way through them, but I did start to borrow titles from friends and buy whatever appealed to me.
The hobby escalated. A decade later, I risk being crushed to death by my to-be-read pile.
And it’s all due to my curiosity.
Curiosity frequently drives people to explore new topics and stories through reading.
If you’re an avid reader, be grateful you’re not a cat.
At least you’re not putting one of your lives at risk 24/7.
2) Emotional intelligence
Reading fiction involves delving into the feelings and experiences of characters.
Furthermore, analyzing characters’ actions and behaviors requires readers to make inferences about their motivations.
This exercise can enhance a reader’s ability to read emotional cues and understand the underlying emotions of people they encounter in real life.
Hence, you get a boost in emotional intelligence just by immersing yourself in a good book.
Even non-fiction, especially memoirs, offers opportunities to learn about the author and their thought process.
By exploring someone else’s intricate emotional landscape, you become more attuned to the subtleties of human emotions.
Let’s face it: throughout a lifetime, you may encounter only a handful of people willing to tell you about their deepest and darkest secrets.
Books fill in the gaps.
3) Open-mindedness
Besides emotional intelligence gains, exposure to diverse viewpoints helps readers keep an open mind.
Reading exposes you to various ideas, broadening your worldview.
If your reading list is diverse, you get to learn about how others perceive this fragile thing we call existence.
Depending on circumstances, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to experience all world cultures first-hand.
Books give you a glimpse into how other people live and what they believe in.
If you’re a fan of questioning assumptions and analyzing arguments, reading also lets you exercise your critical thinking skills.
Honestly, there are no downsides to wholeheartedly embracing this hobby.
You might occasionally lose sleep to finish a chapter or get caught up in silly arguments while debating a book, but that’s about it.
4) Patience
There are countless ways in which bookworms exhibit patience:
- They have to wait for the sequel when the first book in a series ends on a cliffhanger
- They have to wait in line for author signings
- They have to wait months between a book announcement and the day the book comes out
- They have to wait for library copies of their desired book to become available
- They have to wait to make extra money to replenish their book stocks
- They have to wait for the adaptation (and then mercilessly tear it apart)
Ask any Game of Thrones fan how the wait for The Winds of Winter is going.
You’ll see the light in their eyes go out.
5) Creativity/imagination
Readers often have well-developed creativity and imagination. It’s because they enjoy losing themselves in otherworldly realms.
Fiction, in particular, invites readers to actively engage their imaginations to visualize settings, characters, and events.
This process enhances imaginative skills and can spark creativity.
Whenever I experience writing block, I find that the quickest way to cure it is to read something inspiring.
Not only that, but there have been countless occasions when I felt compelled to sit down and write something of my own after reading a piece of literature that moved me.
Plus, as you progress through a story, you usually make predictions about how the story will unfold.
Speculating what comes next engages your imagination and encourages you to consider various possibilities.
I read a lot of psychological thrillers.
I’m not saying that I would be able to solve a real-life murder case just by talking to the main suspects… but I’m not not saying that.
6) Reflectiveness
If you’re an avid reader, there’s a good chance you like to reflect on the content you consume.
When you read, you expose yourself to complex themes.
You put yourself in the character’s shoes and mull over their moral dilemmas.
You become invested in their journeys, reflecting on how they changed between the first and last page.
When I read a captivating book, I think about it throughout the day and count the hours until I can pick it up again.
The fictional characters I read about grow on me to the point where they feel like real people, and I wonder how they’ll deal with the challenges coming their way.
Moreover, books can inspire self-improvement and push you to make a positive change in your life.
That’s pretty awesome.
7) Good communication abilities
Avid readers are usually good communicators.
It makes sense, as reading influences your communication skills for the better:
- It expands your vocabulary
- It improves language comprehension
- It helps you develop a sense of style, grammar, and syntax, enhancing your writing skills
- It can help you express your thoughts and ideas more concisely
- It can bolster your ability to tell engaging and persuasive stories
If you struggle with expressing yourself, reading will prove invaluable.
8) Introversion
I left this for last because it’s not always a given.
Reading is generally a solitary activity, but that doesn’t mean anyone who reads is an introvert.
There’s this stereotype of the bookworm: solitary, doesn’t like to leave the house, only engages with people if they’re fictional.
While I embody it, I also know avid readers who are extroverts.
Some of them exhibit a mix of introverted and extroverted traits. Some are extroverts outright. All like people more than I do.
At the end of the day, while reading may be commonly associated with introverts, readers come from all personality types.
If you’re an extrovert thinking about picking up a book, don’t let the stereotype discourage you.
Final thoughts
Reading is an enjoyable and knowledge-expanding activity – and avid readers reap the benefits time after time.
It’s also a hobby that doesn’t go out of style, and you don’t age out of it.
In other words, it’s never too late to become a bookworm.
Find a cozy spot, find a book, and let the magical words open you to a world of excitement.
