Reading obscure old books can strengthen a sense of self through purpose and meaning. Turning pages that have not been read for years can feel like a privilege, pilgrimage, rescue mission, and resurrection. Searching for meaning through quests can boost well-being by increasing curiosity, reducing anxiety, and providing direction. Obscure literature can also act as gratitude and empathy by connecting with nearly forgotten works. For people who cannot connect with modern life, old books can offer a rare feeling of welcome. Literature can also provide insight into strangers and reflect shared human experiences, helping counter loneliness.
"This was always the lure of literature and even some nonfiction: Readers "spy" on strangers: servants, scholars, wizards, queens and killers whom we'll never meet in real life but in whom we sometimes see ourselves and those we've known. Unfiltered and firsthand, their joys and sorrows teach us - like case histories - how our species has lived, loved, talked and thought."
Read at Psychology Today
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