There was a time when reading was simply a hobby to me. I believed it was something people who loved stories did on rainy afternoons or quiet weekends. It solely belonged to those who preferred libraries over shopping malls and sweet handwritten notes over text messages. Never had I imagined that one day I would look at a person peacefully reading a book and think, what a privilege that must be. After experiencing a book slump for a few years, I recently found my way back to reading almost by accident and I haven’t been this happy before.
Yet the rediscovery came with an unsettling realization. Reading had not become difficult because books had lost their magic. It had become difficult because the world around us had completely changed. Today, uninterrupted time, sustained attention, and mental stillness have become luxuries we can rarely afford. In today’s world, reading can no longer be taken as a competition with television or other books but with an entire digitally built economy built to monetize every spare second of our attention. The greatest irony of our time must be this: never have we had easier access to books, and never has it felt harder to truly read them. A few years ago, acquiring a book usually meant either visiting a bookstore or borrowing one from the public library. However, today, thousands of classics and contemporary works are widely available within a single click. With the increasing number of digital libraries, e-books, and audiobooks, literature has become more accessible than ever. Information has become abundant.
Attention, however, has become scarce. We are living in an age where every application competes just for our gaze. Every notification demands urgency. Every scroll reveals something newer, better and appealing than the last. We have been consuming hundreds of headlines without even attempting to read the articles beneath them. We skim opinions without examining arguments. We often end up mistaking familiarity with understanding because we have seen a topic repeatedly on our screens.
On the contrary, reading asks us to do something radically different. It demands patience in an impatient world. It asks us to sit with uncertainty, makes us uncomfortable and forces us to follow complex ideas, to imagine lives different from our own, and to resist the temptation of instant gratification. In hundreds of ways, reading has become an act of quiet rebellion. Because this is not merely about literature. It is about the kind of minds we are cultivating as individuals and as a society.
Someone who enjoys Fiction is often dismissed as an entertainment seeker, yet it quietly performs one of democracy’s most essential functions: it expands empathy. A novel allows us to feel the fears of a refugee, experience the loneliness of an elderly widow, the ambition of a young woman challenging social expectations, or the moral conflict of someone whose circumstances differ entirely from ours. Statistics can tell us how many people suffer while reading helps us understand what suffering feels like. We live in an increasingly polarized world where empathy should no more be considered a sentimental virtue but a civic necessity.
Unfortunately, our educational systems fail to nurture such understanding among young students. Too often, reading becomes associated with examinations rather than exploration. Our universities often compel students to memorize summaries instead of engaging with complete texts. Books have become instruments for grades rather than companions for life. Once examinations come to an end, many stop reading altogether because they have never experienced the practice of reading as pleasure or discovery.
The problem however extends beyond schools. Adults are found trapped in a culture that glorifies constant productivity and constant gratification. We proudly announce how busy we are. We measure success by the number of hours worked rather than the quality of our thinking. Leisure increasingly requires justification. Reading for enjoyment is dismissed as laziness by so many only because it does not produce any economic value. Instead of debating thoughtfully, we respond instantly. Outrage is rewarded more than nuance by algorithms because outrage keeps the viewers engaged. Books reward the opposite. They teach us to take a pause before concluding. They allow us to examine multiple perspectives, and to appreciate complexity.
On any ordinary day, we wake up to notifications buzzing on our mobile phones. We commute to work through traffic while checking emails. We work under constant interruptions and a never-ending cycle of pressures. And during short breaks, we scroll through social media because our attention has already been trained to seek quick rewards. When a book finally finds its way into our hands in the evening, our mind becomes too exhausted to follow even a few pages without drifting elsewhere. This is not a failure of willpower alone. It is the result of living in an economy that profits from distraction. Here technology itself should never be seen as the sole enemy.
The fact is that digital platforms have introduced millions of people to literature and art, enabled independent authors to reach readers through various online platforms, and made countless books available at a minimum or no cost. The issue is not that we use technology; it is that many digital platforms are intentionally designed to maximize engagement rather than understanding.
Countries in the world map that consistently perform well in education and development are rarely seen treating reading as an afterthought. Libraries are woven into community life. Little children grow up seeing adults read. Schools never fail to prioritize discussion over memorization. Authors are celebrated not only as entertainers but as contributors to public thought. Reading is embedded deeply into the rhythm of everyday life. In the context of Nepal, we have definitely made significant progress in improving literacy rates over the decades. More children attend school today than ever before and the retention rates are improving. Universities have expanded, and access to education has improved considerably. While these are achievements worth celebrating, literacy should not be confused with a reading culture. Being able to read and choosing to read are fundamentally different.
Families also have a significant role to play since children imitate what they observe more than what they are instructed to do. A child raised in a home where books occupy shelves grow into more grounded and empathetic adults. A culture that values thoughtful learning ultimately benefits workplaces by producing employees capable of sustained concentration and creative problem-solving. Perhaps the greatest misconception about reading has to be that it is an escape from reality. Because when reading becomes a luxury, thoughtful citizenship becomes one too. And no society can afford that price.
