A well read woman is a dangerous creature- Lisa Kleypas.

Looking at this quote can easily cause one to think violence. I do not interpret the word “dangerous” as violence. For me, dangerous in this quote means empowered.

Before I get to the word empowered and why I chose it. Let’s take a second and define a well-read person.

Macmilliandictionary.com (n.d.) states well-read as a person who has a significant amount of knowledge and has read a ton of books.

Reading has mental and physical benefits. I have talked about the benefits before on the blog. For this blog today, I will recap on the benefits.

Before we get to the benefits of reading, let’s talk more about the word “empowered.”

Why Did I Choose Empowered to define Dangerous in this quote?

I chose the word empowered because reading empowers the reader. Reading has empowered me.

According to MerriamWebster.com (n.d.) definition, empowered is having the knowledge, confidence, means, or ability to do things or make decisions for oneself.

Marriam Webster (n.d.) also states that empower is to give power to someone. Knowledge is power. Knowledge is gained through reading.

Here is another definition of empower.

According to yourdictionary.com (n.d.), empower means to give someone more confidence and/or strength to do something, often by enabling them to increase their control over their own life or situation.

Reading inspires me, makes me smarter, increases my confidence, relaxes me, helps to activate my creativity muscle, gives me entertainment(depending on what I am reading), etc.

All of these things that I have gained from reading has helped empowered me. But wait, there is more.

By reading, you gained so much knowledge on a variety of things. You get to experience so many different perspectives, places, people, etc.

Throughout life, we participate in different experiences. Due to these experiences, we gained knowledge. With some of these experiences, we obtained undesirable side effects.

During reading, you get to experience things you wouldn’t have excess to. You get to gain knowledge through the narration of others’ experiences without the undesirable side effects.

Reading allows you to learn from someone without actually speaking to them or having to meet them. That is a privilege.

Reading gives knowledge, power, entertainment, escapism(if you need it), access to different worlds, and so on.

Back when I was at Ole Miss working on my bachelor of social work degree, I took a literature class regarding women writers. I read many books in that class. We had to write about each one, but there was one particular book that I read that change my life forever.

I could feel the emotions the woman was feeling in the book. It was like I was right there with her. I wasn’t happy with the ending, but I felt so much compassion for her.

That book open my mind up to a lot of things. For one, I gained some knowledge regarding limitations and choices women had at certain period of history. Not today, but one day I may speak further on that book.

Reading and I go back since I was little.

When I was little, I couldn’t wait for the book fair to come in elementary school. I bought books and bookmarks. I was a sucker for a cute bookmark lol.

I was also excited when it was time to go to the library to get a book. I would order books through the mail too. We didn’t have internet back then. It was a good day when a book I ordered came in the mail.

I have read books online, but it is something about the physical touch of the book in your hand.

Reading is one of the pass times that I enjoy. Last year on the blog, I created a post on 18 Ways To Be Kind To Yourself. Guess what was on the list? If you guess reading, you are correct.

I wrote another blog post on Ways to Reduce Stress. If you guess that reading was on that list, you are right again.

I also created a blog post on 24 must read books for inspiration. If you are looking for some inspiration or new reads, click here.

Reading is the business for me. There is nothing like sitting back chilling with herbal tea in one hand and a good book in the other hand.

It is so calming until it feels like you are taking a pause from the world. It is almost like a beautiful date with you and whatever genre you are reading. Let it be at a bookstore, nothing but good vibes, Ok.

The patio, bath tub, your favorite chair, bed, coffee shop, library, park, etc. are all great places to read at too. You can choose whatever place you like. It doesn’t matter. As long as your choice sets the mood you are going for, it will work.

Here at Life Through Fancy Eyes, we are all about doing what works for you.

We already know you gained a lot of knowledge from been well read. Now, let’s get to some other benefits Stanborough (2010) discussed on reading.

Stanborough (2010) discussed studies in her article on Healthline that showed these mental and physical benefits of reading:

can strengthened your brain
helps you empathize more
increase your vocabulary and knowledge
may help reduce cognitive decline caused by age
reduce stress
helps you sleep better
may reduce symptoms of depression
may help you live longer.

Look at the benefits of reading. It goes beyond reading a lot of books and increasing your book collection. Don’t get me wrong. This is great, but reading also affects your overall well being.

Let’s get back to the quote, “A well-read woman is a dangerous creature.”

To me, this is a powerful quote. We can choose how we take or interpret words. If you take something as a negative, it will create negative feelings in you. If you take something as a positive, it will create positive feelings in you.

I know the definition of well-read talks about reading and acquiring knowledge, but I wanted to expand on other benefits.

A well read woman receives many from reading.

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She is empowered on a mental and physical level.

Her knowledge is enhanced

her brain is strengthened

her confidence may increase

her decision making may improve

her stress levels may reduce

depression symptoms may be reduced

she may have better nights of sleep

she may increase the time she has on this earth

she may have more empathy for others, etc.

Let’s not forget that she can learn valuable lessons and knowledge without the undesirable side effects through others’ life experiences through their writing.

Back to the definition of empowered. All those benefits that has been mentioned throughout this blog post sound like a great recipe for empowerment.

I hope you have enjoyed my two cents on a well read woman. I hope you leave this blog post inspired to read more.

I feel like getting dress and heading to Barnes and Noble to enjoy my current read with a matcha latte from Starbucks.

One more thing. I am always looking for new reads. If you have any recommendations, let me know below.

Until next time

Sources:

Macmillan Dictionary (n.d.) well read. retrieved from https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/well-read

Merriam Webster (n.d.) empowered. retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/empowered

Stanborough, R. (2019). Benefits of Reading Books: How it Can Positively Affect Your Life. Retrieved from https: //www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-reading-books#strengthens-the-brain