Why Reading Hard Books Is Important Despite How Proquest

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Oct 31, 2025, 8:29 AM

why reading hard books is important despite how proquest

In middle school and high school, your teachers probably encouraged you to seek out primary sources, which are original accounts of a topic, as opposed to secondary sources, which are retellings or summaries of... However, teachers often don’t acknowledge an important fact: Primary sources are really boring and hard to read. If they’re historical texts, they’ll have different writing conventions, which makes them much harder to parse. Or, if they’re from the present but are academic, they’ll use language that is uncommon outside of their field. Reading a modern account that summarizes the topic, such as a Wikipedia article, can help you understand a concept much more quickly than you would’ve by reading primary sources. With the advent of the internet, summaries have proliferated.

It used to be that if you wanted to learn something, and your professor’s curriculum wasn’t working for you, the best way to learn was to go to the library and find a book... But now we live in a more advanced world where challenging subjects have been summarized and popularized in YouTube videos and Wikipedia articles. Learning class material via YouTube isn’t bad by itself—I’ve certainly saved many hours by watching videos by The Efficient Engineer instead of reading my textbooks—but using YouTube as your professor won’t work forever for... First, as you continue to learn from the internet, you’re bound to notice diminishing returns. For example, there must be hundreds of thousands of videos, articles and websites out there that explain how to multiply and divide fractions or factor polynomials. Once you get higher up into mathematics and have to deal with concepts such as derivatives and Laplace transforms, though, things get trickier.

There’s still information out there, but it gets much harder to find resources that will explain it better than the textbook you paid an extortionate amount of money for. Eventually, once you reach math concepts that I’m not educated enough to know the names of, you will have to accept the sad truth that not all knowledge is free and easy to find... Some of it can only be gained from an expert in the field, which is why becoming a part of an academic community is useful. But, much more often, it’ll exist in a textbook or journal, completely unsummarized. If, up to that point, you’ve been avoiding textbooks like the plague, what happens then? Second, a person who relies on summaries can be abused by them.

The act of summarizing itself involves making value judgments about what parts of a text are important, and the person making that video may not even be aware of the judgments they made. More importantly, there’s active disinformation: Someone could simply lie about what’s in the text that they’re summarizing. How would you know that they’re wrong? This risk of misinformation isn’t just unique to us college students, though. Most people get their facts and opinions not from primary sources, but from news outlets or commentators that do the research for them. Obviously, if you relied solely on primary sources at all times, you’d spend all your time doing research and never come to any conclusion.

But being a responsible agent of knowledge means that when your brain tells you that something doesn’t seem right, you have to do the research the hard way. Still, being good at reading complex works is important in other ways. Being able to parse legal documents, tax forms or contracts can help you catch important points that you otherwise would’ve missed. In our modern era of instant information and bite-sized entertainment, reading intellectually challenging material can seem like an unnecessary burden. Why struggle through a dense classic novel, a difficult philosophical treatise, or an intricate historical account when easier, more accessible options are available? However, those who embrace the challenge of “hard books” often find their intellectual lives enriched in ways that lighter reading simply cannot provide.

In the context of classical education, where the cultivation of wisdom and virtue is paramount, reading hard books is not just beneficial — it is essential. Reading a difficult text requires patience, focus, and perseverance. When a book is challenging, the reader cannot simply coast through it in a passive way. Instead, he or she must engage actively, rereading passages, looking up words, and considering complex ideas. This process strengthens the mind much like physical exercise strengthens the body. In an age where attention spans are shrinking, the discipline developed through reading demanding works is invaluable.

A student who has struggled through The Republic by Plato, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, or The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer will develop the ability to sustain deep thought. This intellectual stamina prepares individuals for rigorous study in any discipline, whether in law, medicine, theology, or philosophy. Even more importantly, it enables them to engage with the weighty questions of life with clarity and insight. Many of the greatest works of literature, philosophy, and theology do not provide easy answers. Instead, they invite the reader into a serious intellectual and moral struggle. Consider Augustine’s Confessions, where the author wrestles with questions of sin, grace, and divine providence.

Or regard Shakespeare’s Hamlet, which raises profound questions about justice, revenge, and the meaning of existence. These works challenge us not just to understand but to engage, to debate, and to form our own reasoned conclusions. By reading hard books, we learn that truth is not always simple. Life’s most significant questions — What is justice? What is virtue? What is the good life?

— are not easily answered. Grappling with these texts prepares us for the complexity of real-world ethical and philosophical dilemmas. In his work The Western Canon, Harold Bloom wrote that a “reader does not read for easy pleasure or to expiate social guilt, but to enlarge a solitary existence.” The apparent message in Bloom’s flourish is that a reader ought to be after something more difficult to attain than mere pleasure. Passive consumption of entertainment will simply not do. Instead, readers are to be fully engaged with the work in front of them, especially when the process is difficult.

It’s through this difficulty that a reader inevitably enlarges what Bloom refers to as a “solitary existence,” or, put another way, an existential engagement with the human condition. However, it appears that readers, especially young Americans, aren’t invested in excavating the existential questions often presented in books. They don’t seem all that committed to investigating the philosophical implications of Nietzsche’s eternal return or the way paranoia often preys upon the mind of someone deeply entrenched in the world of John Barth’s... As a former university and high-school teacher, I have often heard students proclaim that books are too hard and too boring to be worth their time. This diagnosis has become even more evident with the advent of uber-addictive social media platforms. Complex novels, such as Lucy Ellmann’s Ducks, Newburyport, Gertrude Stein’s The Making of Americans, and David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest, cannot effectively compete with dopamine-riddled dance and mukbang videos.

Short, well-produced content on TikTok and Instagram and the endorphin rush they provide are comparable to illicit drugs. Difficult texts require more of the reader than passive attention, and most young people simply refuse the challenge. Even for those who wish to read difficult material, it can feel like searching for a diamond in the rough. The so-called serious fiction of today features didactic tracts promoting the latest in progressive politics. Often, the inherent—albeit contradictory—message in these tracts features a heavy criticism and dismissal of white men and, ultimately, the Western world. Though this may be an attractive literary neighborhood for some, it doesn’t scratch the same intellectual and spiritual itch that, say, Albert Camus’ The Stranger does.

In a world increasingly dominated by screens, the allure of physical books might seem to belong to a bygone era. With e-books, audiobooks, and online articles at our fingertips, many question whether traditional books still hold relevance. However, reading a physical book offers a unique experience that continues to endure and profoundly captivate readers, even in this digital age. Physical books engage our senses in ways that digital formats cannot replicate. The tactile sensation of holding a book, the weight of its pages, and the subtle scent of paper create an immersive and intimate experience. Each turn of the page marks a tangible milestone, providing a rhythm to the reading process that screens cannot offer.

These sensory cues help readers connect to the narrative and foster a deeper appreciation of the content. Moreover, physical books eliminate the distractions often associated with digital devices. While being convenient, the devices like smartphones, tablets, and e-readers come with notifications, pop-ups, and endless access to social media and emails. These interruptions can detract from the focus and mental clarity required for a fulfilling reading experience. On the other hand, a physical book provides an uninterrupted sanctuary where readers can fully immerse themselves in the story or ideas presented on the page. The act of reading a physical book also promotes better retention and comprehension.

Studies have shown that readers absorb information more effectively when engaging with printed text than in digital formats. A book's linear layout, combined with the tactile experience of flipping back to reread sections, reinforces memory and aids in understanding complex ideas. This is particularly important in educational contexts, where the depth of learning can significantly impact a student's intellectual growth. Physical books carry an aesthetic and emotional value that transcends their content. A personal library, with shelves lined with favourite titles, is a testament to one's journey as a reader and thinker. Each book holds a story beyond its narrative-a memory of the time and place it was read, the emotions it evoked, or the person who gifted it.

These associations imbue books with a sense of history and meaning that a digital file cannot provide. Thanks this really helped…very motivational😊 I had to read this for ELA, i am bored in class right now and we are learing the IMPORTANCE for books. Bla Bla Bla. Dont care tbh. Just watch TV with the subtiltes on.

Its not that hard. Become more into this time of the world. period. This is a useful and excellent share. Will definitely share it with people I know. This post was a great resource in building buzz for my city’s first book festival.

Based on other sources, the opening line to 1984 should be: It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. [in April; not on April.] BTW, I actually like your quirky ‘on April’ better :). Thank you Sandra. I have made the correction 🙂 Things are continually evolving in the fast-paced world of international education. But against a backdrop of innovation, development, and progress, a few core ideas remain the same.

Why Reading Hard Books Is Important Despite How Proquest

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