Importance of Reading Horror Novels and The Benefits of Second Hand Novels to The Environment

Horror novels are quite hard to read. They’re scary, and they’re brutal. But what do horror novels actually do to your brain? We’ve found the difference in brain activity between people who read horror books and those who don’t. This can also help us figure out how horror novels influence students’ learning skills and academic activity. We have covered the importance of reading horror novels and the environmental benefits of buying second hand novels.

What Horror Novels Do To Your Brain

Reading horror novels can cause your brain to go into a state of panic. Reading such novels elicits the release of hormones. These hormones, cortisol and adrenaline, help animals and humans deal with danger.

Horror films are “fun” for their sensationalism – they usually depict brutal and unsettling situations with no consideration for trauma. They can influence viewers in a brutal manner.

Let’s be honest. There is a small line between fascinating and distressing. In reality, consuming violent material can desensitize people to real-life violence. This can influence culture, since it can influence people negatively. People might not value human life as they should.

The strong fear that students may feel after reading such books can negatively affect their academic performance. This can, in return, affect their potential success after graduating college, leaving them jobless. In order not to worry about bad grades, students can seek help from professional personal statement writers who will complete the assignments for them. These real experts have lots of experience offering help online. Hiring writing services when students are feeling scared is normal and can help them recover.

Fear Response from Reading A Horror Book

There are many ways that horror books can affect our brains. The fear we feel when we read these books is much the same as the fear we might feel in response to a real life-threatening situation. 

We can also experience symptoms of PTSD or other anxiety disorders when reading horror books. This happens if we identify with such past events. Identifying with such situations can be triggering for many.

The biological reason behind this phenomenon is that the amygdala (part of our limbic brain) responds faster to images than words, which means that even if you know that something is just fiction, your brain will react as though it’s reality.

Reading Horror Stories and Learning Development

We could also find positive outcomes to reading horror novels. For example, reading horror novels can aid with cognitive growth and social awareness by introducing readers to diverse viewpoints and belief systems that can broaden the creativity and promote empathy.

Reading horror novels can also help develop new neural connections in the brain to aid recollection and creativity. Reading the same information more than once can develop new neural connections, resulting in improved recollection, inspiration, and problem-solving abilities.

When people observe others in pain while reading, they often experience less pain themselves. This would be because we process the feelings of others around us easier than our personal ones, making it simpler to empathize with them. As a result, horror films and novels featuring violent and unsettling situations may help individuals empathize with others who are experiencing suffering. This can help their learning (about the external world) develop faster. 

It’s also important to note that if you enjoy reading scary books and do so on a regular basis, you might want to write your own. Because frequent reading improves your imagination, there’s a high chance you’ll succeed.

Why We Find Horror Books So Exciting

Horror books are an effective way to channel our fears. They let us explore the unknown in a controlled environment without any actual danger nearby. The adrenaline they produce is also satisfying for most readers, which is why it’s so common for people to engage with such literature.

Wrapping Up

Horror novels are not only entertaining, but are also a form of therapy. When we’re scared by something fictional, it’s because our brain knows that there is no real threat in our real environment. This can help us release certain fears whilst reading the book.

Be careful, horror novels can also be a trigger for anxiety, PTSD, or unhealthy behavior such as addiction. Make sure that, before you read a horror novel, you’re able to distinguish between these symptoms. If they don’t make you feel good, drop them and start reading romance or sci-fi. Don’t let yourself by triggered by it.

Environmental Advantages of Second Hand Novels 

With the topic of environmentalism at the forefront of society's mind, many of us are beginning to scrutinize our daily habits more closely. In 2020, society is more aware than it was even ten years ago of how small, simple changes can add up to significant environmental benefits. There are hundreds of ways we can live a more carbon neutral lifestyle, ranging from reducing our use of single-use plastic to cycling instead of driving. 

But what does this have to do with books? 

The environmental cost of publishing books is enormous. Each year, the newspaper and book publishing industries consume 153 billion gallons of water, with each book consuming two kilowatt hours of fossil fuels and approximately 7.5 kilograms of CO2. Worse, if a book ends up in a landfill, its decomposition produces twice the global warming emissions and toxic impacts on local water systems that it did when it was new. 

When this is combined with an estimated 320 million (640,000 tonnes) of waste being sent to landfill each year, a bleak picture of the environmental impact of purchasing new books emerges. 

So, as readers, what can we do to assist? 

There are numerous options. E-readers have exploded in popularity in recent years, with the production of an e-reader equating roughly 40-50 new print books. This means that if a reader reads more than this amount, their carbon footprint may be lower if they use an e-reader instead of purchasing new physical copies of the same titles. 

But what about the books that are currently in print? 

E-readers are bad news for the trillions of books that are currently on the market. If every reader switched to an e-reader, the surplus of supply to demand for physical books would result in massive waste and a huge negative environmental impact. When this is combined with the carbon footprint of producing the e-reader in the first place, it is clear that e-readers are not the most environmentally friendly solution. 

Purchasing Used Books 

There is, thankfully, a solution: used books. 

Choosing used books over new books reduces carbon emissions by less than one-fifth. By purchasing used, you are actively preventing the same books from ending up in a landfill, thereby avoiding the massive environmental impact described above. These books still have great stories to tell, and while we can't undo the emissions from their creation, we can ensure a carbon-neutral future by preventing them from going to waste. 

There is also the added benefit of used books being far less expensive than new books. With a new book costing on average £7.48 in the UK, opting for the used equivalent can result in significant savings. So, buying used is not only better for the environment, but it is also better for your wallet! 

Overall, purchasing used books is a sustainable mode of consumption. And, while the titles aren't always perfect, there's a certain romanticism in knowing that the book you're holding has been thoroughly enjoyed by those who came before you, and will hopefully be enjoyed by whoever you pass it on to next.