We all have our own unique ways of dealing with stress, anxiety and other negative emotions. Some of us are more comfortable cognitive-soothing techniques, and others might benefit from a little bit more action. There’s no wrong answer here; it’s about finding what works for you. Essentially, the type of activities you engage in can be categorized as either stress-reducing or stress-inducing. If you are looking to find ways to cope with stress, it’s important that you choose activities that don’t involve engaging in high levels of stress. One way of doing this is by exercising your brain through cognitive-soothing activities such as reading or puzzles.
Literature has been shown to lower blood pressure, reduce anxiety and ease tension. It can also improve your outlook on life by exposing you to new experiences and encouraging introspection. Reading is an excellent form of relaxation when you want something other than TV or another video game as a form of escapism from the real world. With so many great books out there, it can be hard to know where to start if you haven’t read much before. Fortunately, we have compiled a list of 10 best books for new readers that will introduce you to some amazing authors and their incredible stories!
How to Reduce Stress through Writing
Writers have a very special way of dealing with stress. They can’t escape it entirely, but they don’t let it consume them either. Writing is a way for them to express their emotions and the feelings that are running through their minds. For example, if you are feeling stressed out about something, you might write about it in your journal or blog post. The act of writing down what you’re going through can help you get some clarity and release the pressure from your thoughts so that you can continue on and live your life without any fears or worries about what may happen in the future.
If you’re struggling with high levels of anxiety, learning how to write creatively could also be a beneficial tool for you. This doesn’t mean that all writers experience anxiety; however, if this is something that’s been troubling you over the past few years, then finding ways to express yourself artistically could lower the levels of stress and anxiety in your life while allowing you to work through things more creatively.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian, feminist novel written by Margaret Atwood. The novel follows the life of Offred, an unnamed woman who has become an “”Aunt”” and is now forced to bear children for the ruling class. It’s about her fighting for her freedom and trying to find meaning in this new life as she does everything she can to keep herself alive. This book is definitely one you need to check out if you want a good read with twists and turns.
El Deafo by Marla Frazee
This graphic novel follows a girl named Lennie whose family has been moved to a small town, leaving her feeling lonely and disconnected. One day, she finds an old trumpet abandoned on the side of the road and decides to play music with the instrument. A few days later, she is confronted by a little girl who tells her that she should be playing the trumpet instead. To make matters more complicated, when Lennie plays music no one can hear it but herself! Eventually, Lennie realizes that she might be better at making friends with people through music than face-to-face interactions.
The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
“”In this powerful story of an ordinary girl’s descent into the dark world of drug addiction, a young woman deals with her own spiraling emotions by taking on the role of someone else. As she becomes more and more detached from reality, the chosen person is a cold-blooded killer who has somehow found her way into her life.””
This is one of the best books for new readers to pick up. It is perfect for those who want to try reading and might be hesitant to start because they worry about not being able to understand what’s going on. This book will help you connect with characters and their emotions as well as introduce you to two completely different worlds that are similar in many ways.
The Heart of a Leader by Angela Merkel
Marianne, a young woman in Germany, learns the hard way that we are all capable of being leaders. From the perspective of a child in war-torn Berlin, she matures into a powerful and influential woman who has led her country through some dark times. Merkel’s life story is as much of an inspiration as it is a cautionary tale. She has faced great adversity and continued to persevere despite everything that was thrown at her.
Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
Although the Harry Potter series doesn’t just focus on one protagonist, each story is centered around a young boy who must overcome adversity to defeat evil.
Harry Potter started out with an orphan living in poverty in Britain and was constantly bullied for being different. He had no friends until he met Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley in his first year of school.
The next thing he knows, he has two best friends and a life-long enemy that threatens to tear him apart from the inside. However, Harry is able to harness the power of love and friendship to overcome all obstacles in his life until he defeated Lord Voldemort, the most feared dark wizard of all time.
Each book ends with a cliffhanger that leaves you wanting more. The stories are so well written and intricately woven together that they will keep you entertained while hoping there is always more to come after each novel!
I’ll Be Here for You: An Oxford Student Handbook by Christina Brown
This book is a poignant story of London in the 19th century and follows the lives of several people as they cope with different issues. It focuses on the class and race divide, an event that is still relevant today.
Persuasion Poems by Rumi
Persuasion Poems by Rumi is a stunning first novel. It’s the story of two young women, Farrin and Sahra, who are brought together by a shared love of poetry. The two characters’ lives are filled with many different twists and turns, as they explore their individual relationships with God and society. As you read this beautifully written novel, you will be able to see how literature can help us find peace in even the most chaotic situations.
It’s an intense story about love and loss, but Persuasion Poems leaves you feeling fulfilled at the end. In fact, it’s one of those books where you know exactly what will happen next without ever feeling like it’s predictable or boring. You also get to experience many different emotions throughout the course of this book. It really shows how literature can provide access to a whole new world for readers who may not have experienced that before!
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
This classic novel by Jane Austen is an engaging read with a plot that will keep you entranced. Pride and Prejudice follows two daughters of an English country gentleman, Elizabeth Bennet and her sister, Jane Bennet. The story is set in the 18th-century England and focuses on the relationships between them and their five suitors.
Pride and Prejudice starts off with Elizabeth Bennet making a sarcastic remark to her sister, Jane, about the men they are invited to visit but then quickly turns into a love story. The novel contains many delightful characters including Mr. Darcy who has been described as “”the man people forget to marry””.
A must-read for any new reader!
A Brief Guide to Editing Your Writing (Without Feeling overwhelmed)
The most important thing you can do to improve your writing is editing. However, sometimes it’s hard to know where to start with editing. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of helpful tips for new writers on how to edit your writing without feeling overwhelmed.
1) Start by reading your work out loud.
Reading aloud will help you identify areas that may need improvement in the flow of words and sentence structure. It will also help you hear what sounds awkward or unnatural and make the necessary adjustments that are needed. 2) Edit sentences individually first before attempting to edit larger sections of text.
Editing full text blocks can be overwhelming because it can feel like there are too many things going on at once. Editing sentences one at a time first will allow you to see what needs attention and highlight individual pieces of text that need revision rather than trying to spot changes throughout the entire passage at once. 3) Focus on only correcting grammar, word choice, punctuation, spelling and other essentials rather than adding unnecessary details.
Not all mistakes should be fixed in an editing session; some are more noticeable than others and shouldn’t take away from the overall message being conveyed in the piece of writing. The main focus should be on content rather than formatting or word choice when doing an editing session; as such, only fix mistakes that detract from the meaning of your writing regardless of whether they are grammatical errors or not
