Why Do We Love to Read?

[akulagi]

However, I'm sure you have some friends who don't read at all, or at least not frivolous things like novels. A quantity of my friends tell me that they only have time to read practical books � to advance their careers or make them better parents. And they kind of look at each other comic. (P.S. I admire their devotion to duty.)

 

I know, I do know � for a quantity of you, the query is pointless. They read because it's necessary, like eating and breathing.

 

Let's come out and admit that escape has something to do with it. Even in the event you have a great life, sometimes it's lovely to inhabit another. And if you're going through a bad time, well, let's say I went through a spell where I was reading mystery novels on my day off.

 

But for those of us who , love to read � why is that?

 

I've also heard it suggested that reading is a kind of meditation. They can definitely find inspiration in reading. And let me say that I have learned lots of what I do know about history, culture, and criminal inquiry by reading fiction.

 

And then there's the vicarious experience aspect. A book takes away our time and space limitations. They can visit the past or the future, travel to an exotic locale, or imagine what it is to be an athlete or a soldier or a monk.

 

But I think the most important reason I read is for meaning. I think that when an author writes a book, they or they does it because they need to say that there is something significant about how people live in the world. And they can learn from that. In a world that often seems random, it's fabulous to have recourse to the world of books.

Edited August 4, 2012 by Michelle
link removed

[Kreader]

I read for many reasons, escapism is just one of them. Sometimes its the opposite, reading not to escape but to analise real life head on. I do learn a lot from reading fiction. I tend to wonder where the author got their ideas from and check out the history and science behind the story. I find I understand polictics, some sociology, some psychology, languages from just reading fiction. Many of the authors have studied this and have used it to show working models of how some constructs/situations could work. Whilst I was reading this fiction I was helping lil sis with her her homework when she did a degree in cultural studies. I'd come across many of the concepts that she was just being introduced to from reading years ago and I had been reading for fun.

 

Some may chill out watching tv and get hooked on soap operas, me, I'll read and give that a miss. Each to his/her own.

[Nailed]

I love you read because it does two things, it dramatically improves my knowledge (even fiction improves my knowledge as I am constantly learning new words) and because my mind is such a powerful tool, My imagination is much more powerful without visual input.

 

Lou x

[emelee]

Same reason I watch TV or films. It's entertainment. Another world. Sometimes books are better than movies, sometimes movies are better than books. You never know until you read and see and get swept away.

 

Books for school goes without saying why I read them, right? 1) I must or I'll fail. 2) Knowledge.

[Kafka]

I don't like the idea of books and movies being dismissed as just entertainment. I can keep myself entertained with literally anything. Give me a brick and I'll find a way to have fun with it, for a short while. Books and movies are an extremely powerful medium, with potential to be something so much more than entertainment. I'm not going to use the word "entertainment" to describe both a jigsaw puzzle and For Whom the Bell Tolls.

 

Of course, some books and movies are just plain entertainment, but that's not really the stuff that matters. I mean, the Jackass movies are great fun, for me at least. I enjoy watching them. That's entertainment. A movie like The Thin Red Line is more.

 

Sorry if I sound like a pretentious jerk, just my two cents.

Edited August 8, 2012 by Kafka

[karen.d]

I read for many reasons. Reading has helped me in the past as a form of medicine to take my mind off of pain from things like operations and bad backs, but mainly it's a way to go places, without leaving the comfort of my armchair.

[emelee]

I don't take entertainment lightly. Entertainment is one of the most important things in life. What is the point of living if you never have fun or ever get to do something you enjoy? That would be a completely pointless life IMO.

 

Just like spending time with friends & family is entertainment (most of the time).

[Talisman]

I read too for many different reasons - to learn and experience new things (different cultures, what motivates people for example or why they do certain things), to help me understand myself and others, for escapism and sometimes even just to pass the time.

 

I can see why reading would seem like meditation to some, and in many ways it is, for when you are completely absorbed in a good read, time just stands still and you are completely absorbed in that one moment.

[Feste]

I read (novels) primarily because I enjoy it, otherwise it would be a waste of time. Learning new things, getting lost in another world or time, escaping reality, they all amount to what reading is to me. Reading has helped me know how to deal with situations; communicate, or empathise, with people; see life from different perspectives, they all help me learn about things I've not yet experienced. Reading is beautiful, each text is unique and whether or not I enjoy the story, I feel I grow as a person with every passing novel.

[wordsgood]

I read for many reasons. Reading has helped me in the past as a form of medicine to take my mind off of pain from things like operations and bad backs, but mainly it's a way to go places, without leaving the comfort of my armchair.

 

Like many folks, I got hooked on reading from the day I got past "Watch spot run..." because I realized books could take me places and let me do things I couldn't in boring old reality. And Karen it certainly has helped me cope with pain over the years. Probably would be living in a little rubber room if I hadn't had reading to help. It's also way cheaper than actual travel. Don't need to get vaccines or worry about water either.

[Maedeh]

I love reading because it’s fun and it helps to fill up my free time! Reading helps me to learn new things and deepens my understanding of the different genres. I find that I can actually feel as though I’m in the world created by the writer.

Edited August 25, 2012 by Maedeh

[Nocturnal]

I love it because it's different from watching movies/anime in the way that you have more freedom for your imagination. Sometimes you don't get a full description of a character's look and you get to make it up yourself, or the sound of their voice and the way they move in the fights or walk through the city. You get to fully commit to the book and for a time take your thoughts to a whole different world than the one your body's in.

I can stop watching anime and playing games while preoccupied with uni work, but I can never ever stop reading.

[Alexander the Great]

I love to know things and learn new things. I don't necessarily mean facts - I also love to learn about different places in the world and what they're like, or can be like in the minds of authors. I like to read about different norms and values, which are so readily presented in a book. I like to see how characters react to situations and see how many different possibilities there are. I like to see the different ways can turn out.

 

Apart from that, reading is an instinct and always has been. I remember times when I'm reading the ingredients and such on a cereal box over breakfast when having nothing to read, or reading tabloids because there's nothing else lying around. Reading's in my system, I'm programmed to read as I am to breathe and eat. It's not something I can stop doing.

 

Finally, escapism is one of the reason, but not the main reason at all. I tend to use TV and TV series more for escapism than books.

[frankwasalreadytaken]

When I read books I escape from reality. Books are my cache.