There are a few things that make Thuso Mbedu really happy and reading is one of them.

The multi-award-winning actress recently took to social media to encourage followers to exercise their brain by diving into a novel.

On Instagram, she shared that reading made her “giddy with excitement”.

She wrote: “It’s one of those things whose start genuinely makes me giddy with excitement and whose end induces heartbreak - happy or sad ending, you’re likely to find me shedding a few tears.”

“The Underground Railroad” star explained that it was reading that had sparked her desire to explore the world.

“Through reading we traverse plains without leaving the comfort of our own homes... I always knew that there’s so much more out there than whatever it is I was experiencing at the time.”

Mbedu added that she couldn’t understand how people, including her sister, never read books.

“There are people in this life who are very indifferent to the experience of reading 😮🥹 some cite being easily distracted or getting bored and sleepy and, with each new reason, I have to clutch onto my invisible pearls.”

The actress also shared that one of the reasons she fell in love with her current home was because it housed a brown and empty bookshelf, which she was eager to fill.

“I’m not in a rush to fill it but adding a book every now and then makes me super excited...

“I encourage you to read. Open up your mind, exercise the brain, think about what it is that you’re curious about and dig in. It doesn’t have to be thick novels. Start small and build from there,” said the comic-book writer.

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A post shared by Thuso Mbedu (@thuso.mbedu)

Mbedu also asked her followers to share their favourite book titles and offer advice to those who struggle to read or don’t read at all.

“I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou, “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by KHaled Hosseini, and “Children of Blood and Bone” by Tomi Adeyemi, were some of the books suggested in the comments.

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Thuso Mbedu encourages people to read: ‘Open up your mind, exercise the brain’

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