Reading as an exercise for the brain and inner peace

“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not to read books”, is one of the most famous sentences of the famous Russian Nobel laureate Joseph Brodsky. In order to develop good literary taste, Brodsky believes, one should read poetry.

This is how citizens responded to the Blic TV survey related to reading:

“I read Norwegian and Japanese writers. I am currently reading The White Guard, by Mikhail Bulgakov, because it describes very well the events we are still witnessing today. Unfortunately, humanity does not learn from its mistakes. I don’t read anything, I’m an old man. What have you read before? I read the news earlier. I like to start mostly from classical literature. I think that’s the basis and then see what else you like.”

And where better to refine your literary taste and find out what your cup of books is than the City Library. Today, instead of the regular cast, we were greeted by actors who took on the role of librarians for an hour.

We also had help – the youngest visitors tried their hand at being a journalist.

– That is the basis of our culture. It is the oldest form of information transmission. It is very important how we develop – says Jadran Malković, actor.

Many actors responded to the action “We are all in the library” – Branka Pujić, Isidora Simijonović, Miona Marković, Aleksandra Janković, writers Miomir Petrović and Vesna Kapor, director Jelena Bajić. They are sure about one thing – they achieve inner peace by reading.

– That requires concentration, focus, to calm down, which we rarely do because this pace of life pulls us to rush. Then you develop your inner world, which is invaluable. It is a gem that we have to cherish and work hard for because it is not easy to allocate that time – says Branka Pujić, actress.

The city library is the first cultural institution that started celebrating World Book Day. 18 years ago, they invited public figures for the first time to help them promote the culture of reading – the largest number of members will be on April 23rd.

– As for the users of city libraries, there are almost 180 thousand. This is a city of two million people, it could be more, but we are proud because year after year this number grows. We are trying in every possible way to increase the number of users and popularize books, reading and our library through various actions – says Sara Ivković Marković, Head of Marketing of the City Library.

Actresses Miona Marković and Isidora Simijonović helped popularize the written word and libraries today. They were in charge of receiving new members.

– We all have the same struggle with a short attention span and a lot of content around us. I think that the book can mean a lot to us today in grounding, working on attention, focus on slowing down the time we live in – says Isidora Simijonović.

– You can tell exactly who reads and who doesn’t by the way they speak. All the most beautiful stories are told in books. Reading is very useful for strengthening the brain – it can reduce the risk of developing degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s. Reading also develops imagination, critical thinking, and improving vocabulary and writing skills leads to better communication skills. Therefore, do not hesitate to pick up the book – says Miona Marković, actress.