Why do you like reading?

Eckhart Aurelius Hughes · Post by **Scott** » 19 Aug 2007, 12:05

We all like reading. In fact, most of us would probably say that we love reading.

Why do you like it so much? What is it about reading that attracts you to it?

I think I like reading because it allows me to hear from people who have something important to say. You can read from the best thinkers no matter where they are or even when. I'm amazed by the fact that I can go to the book store and buy hours of reading material written by someone who lived hundreds or even thousands of years ago.

What about you?

sleepydumpling · Post by **sleepydumpling** » 19 Aug 2007, 21:58

I read for two reasons...

1) To escape. I love being transported to another time or place. I love that feeling of seeing or doing or experiencing something different.

2) To see things from a different perspective. I love a book that makes me think and shows me things from other people's perspectives.

awelker · Post by **awelker** » 20 Aug 2007, 10:25

sleepydumpling wrote:I read for two reasons...

1) To escape. I love being transported to another time or place. I love that feeling of seeing or doing or experiencing something different.

2) To see things from a different perspective. I love a book that makes me think and shows me things from other people's perspectives.

I agree with Kath. I like reading because it allows me to escape the world that i am in now.

Lyn · Post by **Lyn** » 20 Aug 2007, 11:39

I like reading because it's an opportunity to travel to different landscapes and, sometimes, through different periods in time. It's an escape certainly, but more than that, it's a voyage as seen through another's eyes.

Dori · Post by **Dori** » 20 Aug 2007, 15:42

My reasons for reading are innumerable. However, a substantial amount of my reasons deal with the gaining of knowledge. I read to learn, in other words.

tngwstlnd · Post by **tngwstlnd** » 30 Aug 2007, 01:54

Part of I think is to see new perspectives, to live through fictional characters. Another part is just the whole escapism idea--other people's lives are so much more interesting than my own!

But I think the most fundamental reason is because, like all art, I like seeing what the human race is capable of when they aren't off killing people or arguing over trivial matters such as politics.

Yeah, I'm a pessimist.

Dori · Post by **Dori** » 31 Aug 2007, 19:00

tngwstlnd wrote:But I think the most fundamental reason is because, like all art, I like seeing what the human race is capable of when they aren't off killing people or arguing over trivial matters such as politics.

Yeah, I'm a pessimist.

I presume you believe the evil in this world outweighs the good, right? That would make me an optimist for believing there is always some good, or at least hope, in all matters.

I, like the Athenians did, "regard a man who takes no interest in public affairs, not as harmless, but as a useless character..." (Pericles, 431 B.C.E., Funeral Oration). But don't let my opinion on politics, which is perhaps superfluous in this discussion, turn into some sort of political debate. The point I'm trying to stress here is that I, in contrast to your interests as it seems, like to see what the human race is capable of as far as politics and history goes. Hence, I enjoy historical/philisophical/political treatises just as much as fiction, if not more.

I fear I have gone too far in expressing my opinion.

babypinkcandygirl · Post by **babypinkcandygirl** » 07 Sep 2007, 21:57

i love reading because they are just like conversations; you never know how they are gonna turn out. some are old and familiar like a life-long best friend, some are new and exciting, some utterly bore you, some stimulate or anger you, some are thought provoking, some are like those friends you party with (great for distraction, useless for any depth).

but i think the best ones are the ones that stay with you always, whether you read them once or a hundred times. like when you meet a great person and you stay up the entire night talking... thats what reading a truly great book feels like to me

leslie.aponte · Post by **leslie.aponte** » 17 Oct 2007, 21:31

I love reading beacuse:

1) It helps me stop thinking about bad things. Like when I'm upset or very very mad, I grab a book and that just makes me forget about everything. It is a way of escaping reality.

2) English is not my first language, so it makes me learn grammar and just new words. For some weird reason I love to learn.

3) I love the different situations, people and places you can imagine while you read, or at least I, it makes it so much better than a movie.

Eckhart Aurelius Hughes · Post by **Scott** » 17 Oct 2007, 23:09

leslie.aponte wrote:1) It helps me stop thinking about bad things. Like when I'm upset or very very mad, I grab a book and that just makes me forget about everything. It is a way of escaping reality.

I'm the same way. Whenever I get home from a dramatic night, or if something has upset me, I usually read a book for a long time and then go to sleep. I am not exactly sure why that helps. What's especially odd is that I find sad books help me when I am sad, and other moods are also helped by stories that match them. If I was feeling desperate, a story with a lot of despair would help stabilize me. Perhaps it is just a way to release the feelings.

Karen · Post by **Karen** » 17 Oct 2007, 23:13

I tend to read instead of watching T.V. Reading is my quiet escape from the world as it is today. Yes, it is amazing to read books written by authors from years and years ago. I know this is supposed to be literature - stories, and poetry, but there are books on on sewing vintage fashions, and making those fashions also brings the past into my hands. This is one of the main reasons that I like reading fiction and poetry from time eras gone by. Fashions are mentioned briefly, so are the surrounding circumstances: issues of the time, etc. I'm getting the flavor of yesteryears. Two completely different kinds of reading are so wonderfully complimentary.

mmenzel · Post by **mmenzel** » 21 Mar 2008, 06:36

Being an only child and growing up in the time before all the computer, electronic distractions it was a wonderful past time and now it is just a big part of my life. I even have a website that helps promote newer authors and their books. I love to get lost in a good story.

Libellus · Post by **Libellus** » 21 Mar 2008, 08:20

As others have said - escape. I can go to places that are mine alone (with a little help from the author). That's why talking books (convenient though they are) aren't as good as the printed word...it's someone else's slant on the text. Films and TV even more so. I hate it when you get a film/TV interpretation of a favourite book. They never come up to the mark, and on occasion have just spoilt the book for ever.

Tracey Neal · Post by **Tracey Neal** » 21 Mar 2008, 09:24

Why do I love reading?? Let me count thy ways...

Sometimes its for knowledge and insight..wisdom. To keep myself informed. Curiosity. And then there are the times (for the most part), when I can take myself to another place..somewhere in time..or just here..in the present..I can become those characters that I love..I can fall in love (without getting my heart actually broken)..go on grand adventures..solve a mystery..anything! And I never have to leave my comfort of my home if I wish...I simply open a book

Kim J · Post by **Kim J** » 21 Mar 2008, 14:32

Pretty much the same reasons as everyone else.

I like nonfiction to learn new things.

I like fantasy to escape the craziness of real life.

I like mystery because it keeps me on the edge of my seat.

Etc.