The Importance of Reading

Surprisingly, our society today has a lot of literary references. The lack of intelligence you see everyday alludes to people's inability to read. However, if you look closely, there are some people who have the capabilities [of reading]! The vast majority of our society is too illiterate to realise, but there are references to literature in so many things, just as you see Greek and Roman mythology everywhere. Not only are there literary references in movies for those with a more mature mentality, but they're also in childish ones as well. Quest for Camelot, exempli gratia, has a quote that is taken almost exactly from a Shakespearian play; "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him well," says the two-headed dragon in the mists of danger whilst holding a skull ("HEEEY-THAT'S FROM HAMLET!" we declared triumphantly in the dead of the night, feeling quite intelligent). And though just being literate cannot save you from having your brain cells disintegrate at an incomparable speed when standing next to Nanny's favourite doll-faced niece, it can help you in so many other ways.

Like your own imagination (which literature can invoke), you can learn a lot from books.

First, there are factbooks. Reading these books will tell you the truths-just straight out yes or no answers. There are so many of these, and reading them will fill your head with necessary (or quite unnecessary) answers. (And, for those of you who don't know, how to derive the Quadratic Formula is a necessary answer, as it's just so damn sexy.)

Theorybooks discuss various subjects in depth, and basically answer you with a "maybe yes, maybe no" answer (which is hardly an answer at all!); this is closer to sounding like a scientific journal of sorts, instead of a story. These books are essentially babble, going on about something theoretically, but giving no proper answers, as none of us know them. And, some answers, none of us will ever know. But there are those intellectuals that like to go on like this anyway: "OH MY GAWD-WHAT IF THIS WAS THE ANSWER TO LIFE, THE UNIVERSE, AND EVERYTHING?!" (Not that they need to go on about that; we know the answer is forty-two.)