A Month of Books :: Why Do You Read?

Last updated on 27 February 2017

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‘Why do you read so much?’ – is a question I often get asked.

I read because I love it.

I love the characters. I love the characters who overcome their problems, battle dragons, rescue princesses. I love the characters who sacrifice everything they have for someone else, who journey up hill and down dale, over mountains and through rivers, who don’t know who
they are but find themselves eventually. I love the characters that hurt, heal, and try again. I love the characters who defy the rules when they know it’s the right thing to do, who take chances, who let nothing stop them, who live.

I love the places. I love the places that aren’t from this world, the magical lands reached by implausible means, the rulers of nations far greater and gorier than our own. I love the places that warn us of the future, make us never forget the past, and remind us to live in the now. I love the places that take me with them, that make me imagine the great forests and cliff faces, the thick jungles and the vast desserts. I love the places that make me feel the wind on my face and the path beneath my feet. I love the places because there be dragons.

I love the stories. I love the stories that tell of human nature, that show the good in everyone even if it is hard to find, that make you want to believe in something. I love the stories that make you feel something, that make you want to be something more, that take you away. I love the stories that continue long after the last scene ends, the last word is written, the last page read. I love the stories that feel so real you know you might actually be living it, that you can relate whole sections of your life to, that you remember all your days.

I love reading because you’re swept away to somewhere you might never go. I love reading because there is someone else out there who feels like you do. I love reading because I love the characters, the places, the stories.

I love reading because I do.

I love reading because I am.

What about you?