A lot of science students (and not only) often complain about why they have literature added to their curriculum, especially considering the fact that it has absolutely nothing to do with their major. They may see it as a waste of time or additional workload with no benefits in the future. This is completely understandable from their point of view, but if we were to look at it from an entirely different angle perhaps we could ease our mindset into seeing the importance of literature in our everyday lives.
What’s so cool about Literature?
Literature is a form of art that happens to be an important aspect of human nature. In one of Leo Tolstoy’s not so very famous novels called “What is Art”, he explains that due to man’s ability to express thoughts by words, he acknowledges the achievement of humanity from generations before and understands their thoughts, and thanks to this ability he is also able to share his thoughts and ideas assimilated from them or formed by himself with the future generations to come. Leo went on to say in his book “…thanks to man’s capacity to be infected with the feelings of others by means of art, all that is being lived through by his contemporaries is experienced by men thousands of years ago, and he also has the possibility of transmitting his own feelings to others.”
Art is a form of speech, and literature is just a branch of it. Literature develops in us the capacity to feel, to empathize with fictional characters and their fictional dilemma. Through literature, we are able to live through a numerous amount of life situations or experiences, some that we may not even have the chance to experience in real life or in the nearest future. We don’t only experience them, but also learn from these experiences. Through these experiences, we learn more about the human nature, our tendencies, fears, and capabilities.
Literature is a gateway to the human mind. For writers, they use it as a means of expressing themselves deeply, sharing their thoughts across the world with the hopes that at least someone can relate or understand. As for readers, it serves as a means of finding oneself. On a more sentimental note, some people find out that they share the same ideas or worldviews of a particular writer or poet and this, in turn, makes them not feel alone.
Why is Literature important for students?
It’s important to stress the need for literature in a student’s life. Almost every day students are burdened with extra school work, projects, or home assignments, and with this comes the anxiety or fear of not being able to complete them successfully or submit them before the deadline. This, in turn, adds additional stress to a student’s life. Reading literature, however, helps them relax and take the weight off their shoulders even if for a brief moment. Being that reading literature is also part of school work, you’re technically taking time off to relax your mind and at the same time doing school work. It’s like killing two birds with one stone!
One of the reasons why students don’t find literature interesting or useful is probably because they are reading the wrong type of literature. Literature is a vast body of written works with uncountable genres and categories that are significantly different from one another and you have to search in order to find the one that suits you best. A helpful tip is to follow the reading preferences of people you admire: for example, Bill Gates is known for his reading lists, full of top-quality books. Another thing that could be the cause of the negative attitude towards literature is the fact that students have to spend a certain amount of money buying countless literature books or novels, most of which may end up just taking up space on their shelves. That’s why we at Booksrun.com listed below the top 10 sites where you can download literature legally and for free! On these websites, you can find genres that range from classical literature to fiction, from autobiographies to non-fiction books and much more. If you cannot find a book you were eager to read for ages on these free websites, don’t forget that you can always buy or rent almost any book from BooksRun for a very appealing price.
- Classic Bookshelf (http://www.classicbookshelf.com/): Here you can find classical novels ranging from authors like Charles Dickens to Edgar Allan Poe.
- Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page): Project Gutenberg offers over 56,000 free ebooks!
- Us (http://www.fiction.us/): This site offers a huge selection of fiction novels, including works by Lewis Carroll, Willa Cather, Sherwood Anderson, Flaubert, George Eliot, F. Scott Fitzgerald and others.
- Classic Literature Library (https://classic-literature.co.uk/): Here you can find British authors like Shakespeare and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, plus other authors like Jules Verne, Mark Twain, and more.
- Free Online Novels (http://www.free-online-novels.com/): Christian novels, as well as, fantasy, adventure, mystery, and more.
- Classic Reader (http://www.classicreader.com/): Here you can read Shakespeare, young adult fiction, and more.
- Bibliomania (http://www.bibliomania.com/): This site has more than 2,000 classic texts, plus study guides and reference books.
- Foxglove (http://www.foxglove.co.uk/free_online_novels.html): A British site offering fantasy, satire, and assorted fiction books.
- Page by Page Books (http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/): This page offers books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and H.G. Wells, as well as speeches from George W. Bush and much more.
- Bartleby (http://www.bartleby.com/fiction/): Bartleby has much more than just the classics, but its collection of anthologies and other important novels made it famous.
