Autumn: The Season for Reading 🍁📔

🔸 Summer is too hot to light a lamp

In the old days, people worked in the rice paddies and fields during the day and read books at home in the evening.

So, when they read books, they had to light a lantern or a lamp.

Lighting a fire in the summer would be hot, wouldn't a cool autumn be much better for using a lamp?

That's why they say autumn is a good season for reading.

🔸 The season for making books

Before the invention of paper, bamboo strips were used in China instead of paper.

Since bamboo shoots planted in spring had to be grown until autumn to be used,

it means that to make and read books, one had to wait until autumn.

That's why they say autumn is the season for reading.

🔸 People who get autumn blues

As autumn arrives, the days get shorter and the amount of sunlight decreases.

The secretion of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that is generated by sunlight, inevitably decreases.

Serotonin is closely related to positive emotions, to the point of being called the "happiness hormone".

When serotonin secretion decreases, it becomes easier to feel depressed, and the mind naturally becomes calm.

A calm mind, however, creates a state conducive to concentrating on reading.

Immersed in books, one can experience new worlds and find emotional stability by engaging in diverse thoughts.

Reading also helps relieve stress and enhance creativity.

🤔 Is autumn really the season for reading, statistically?

According to data from the integrated computer network for publishing distribution, March is the month when the most books are sold in Korea!

It seems that with the start of the new school year, people buy workbooks, textbooks,

and sales increase as people set and pursue New Year's resolutions to read.

June is the month with the lowest sales.

With about 8 million copies sold, March sees sales of 12 million copies, significantly higher.

Also, book sales increase during the year-end holidays in December and the summer vacation period in July-August.

Based on the data, the true reading season iswinter and early springit's safe to say.

Book sales in October, in autumn, slightly exceed 8 million copies, not much different from June, which has the lowest sales.

However, if we limit the types of books sold to literature, especially novels, sales are higher than average from September to November.

Especially, this autumn,Han Kang'sNobel Prize in Literaturenews has created a reading boom,

we can say we've encountered a true reading season.

Recommended Book Cafes to Visit

Gudo Coffee

Address: 121, Deungchon-ro 35-gil, Gangseo-gu, Seoul

The interior is decorated with traditional Korean products, giving it a strong classical feel.

A blend of East and West classical beauty, perhaps.

All coffee is served hand-dripped, and if you find it difficult to drink coffee, I recommend the Yuzu Su, with its subtle yuzu flavor.

Books are placed throughout the first and second floors, and the quiet atmosphere makes it a good cafe for reading.

In fact, there were many customers reading books or working.

Cafe Comma

Address: 49, Poeun-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul

Cafe Comma operates seven branches nationwide in Yeoksam, Hapjeong, Yeouido, Songdo, etc., and is already famous as a large book cafe.

I've personally visited the Hapjeong and Songdo branches, and the abundance of books makes it a captivating space to spend time alone.

The bakery items were unremarkable, but if you stay for an extended period, you'll naturally order a menu item or two.

🖥️ A world of YouTube audiobooks, is it okay? 📚

Can simply knowing the content be considered as having read the book?

Mr. Dasan Jeong Yak-yong said, "Even if you read a book a thousand times, it's the same as not having read it if you just read it."

Therefore, when reading a book, you must clarify the meaning of every single character.

For unknown parts, you must conduct extensive research to understand the etymology of the character.

Then, you must do the work of extracting sentences using that character from various books every day." He once said.

The reading method most emphasized by the bookworm, Mr. Dasan Jeong Yak-yong, is the "chosseo" method

‘Chosseo’ is a method of extracting and copying important content from a book, and it is different from ‘bilsa’ (copying).

Mr. Jeong Yak-yong said that if one studies 100 books using the chosseo method for ten days, one can fully grasp their contents.

The ability to grasp the essence is important in reading.

By grasping the essence through chosseo and researching the etymology, one gains in-depth knowledge encompassing the core knowledge of the whole.

It's a good season for reading. Don't hesitate, read a good book right now.