Why Do You Read?

[Mollywobbles]

Why do I read?  For the same reason I breathe, eat and sleep-reading is necessary for my health and well being.  That may sound a little overly dramatic and I would not waste away physically if I could not read, but I would certainly wither away emotionally and intellectually.

I usually have at least 4 pieces of reading material on the go at any given time.  Medieval history is my passion, although I may dabble in other periods, so there is always a history volume in the works.  When I tire of that, there is always a purely entertaining novel on the bedside table.  Newspapers and magazines are found in useful and convenient locations, and there are instructional works on things I always wanted to learn how to do-knit, cook a cheese souffle, install a new flapper in the toilet.

I am not a tv hater, it has its place.  There are good things to be found on the various PBS stations, the History Channel, and the Biography channel, but unfortunately they are few and far between.  My closet tv addictions are Jeopardy and Coronation Street, but aside from those, the fare on network tv is pretty dismal, but you do get the local weather forecast!

As other posters have said, I can't imagine NOT reading.

[suicide_kings_…]

Why do I read? Well..II give my previous wife credit for getting me to read. She would read a chapter or two every night before she went to sleep. One evening I was driving around town and decided to stop into the local book store to pass time and also to get my mind off the stresses of life. I found this book by Gerald Astor " June 6,1944" and after that book I was hooked. Though I never intend on being a historian I love biographies on WI. I have an even better reason for reading though...My daughters! My oldest takes after her mother and I. She reads all the time. My youngest... Well.. Right now she likes to read to anybody. She will read to me,my wife or even the cat. She likes me to read every other chapter to her and as long as she is reading ( expanding her mind) I don't mind. Children learn by example! So when all is getting quiet, then I can get my coffee and open my book of choice and go to a different era.

[Ryan_G]

One of the first things (and on of the few good things) my mom did for me was teach me how to read.  Growing up in the type of family enviornment I had was not easy.  My father was very abusive to my mom and when he finally died and we left we moved around a lot.  By the time I was in fifth grade I had lived in 4 states and went to about 20 schools.  In Washington we lived with bikers.  Anyway growing up books were my real only friends, I was never in one place long enough to make friends.  After a while I stopped trying.  After fifth grade we joined a carnival and did that until I was in HS.  I started to come out of my shell more but books and their characters were still my safe haven when things started to get to crazy.  I'm not sure how I would have turned out if I hadn't been a book lover.

Now (thankfully) I'm a fairly well adjusted adult who still needs to read.  Books were and still are my haven, my stress relaxer and my santuary when everything else gets to be too much.  Without them I'm not sure where I would be.

Oh yeah, I do read for the pure pleasure of the experience as well

Sorry if this was a little heavy of an answer, but it is the reason I read.

[krenea1]

---

Braguine wrote:
Nothing. Nothing develops the mind and expands one's horizons better than reading. In a conversation one can quickly tell if the person reads or not.

---

How is that? Just curious.

[michellefidler]

It's something I can do with my free time.  You can spend hours reading and getting into a good book.  A good use of time.  After all, there are 24 hours in a day.  You need to take time and do something for yourself, as magazines say.  Reading keeps me from getting bored.  I guess people who don't like to read books just watch T.V.  Some of them only like to read magazines or newspapers.  Books make your life richer.  They are portable and you can use them when you're in a waiting room.

I like words and enriching my vocabulary (I like crossword puzzles, too).  I look up unfamiliar words in the dictionary.  I like learning and trivia facts.  I also like a good story and getting lost in a good book.  Reading makes me happy and when I finish a book I feel that I've accomplished something.

As others have said, reading takes you places.  You can be an armchair traveler and go see the pyramids in Egypt, no airplane required.

Reading can be therapeutical, too; a de-stresser.  It takes you to your own quiet place.  "I don't need therapy, I have my book club" is something I think I saw in a catalog on a t-shirt or tote bag.  Quite a few years ago at a flea market I bought some books and the seller told me that reading was his therapy and he tried to read for at least half an hour a day.  I have always remembered this.

I think I got my first library card when I was about seven years old and I've been reading ever since.

[Dreamer4ever]

I read as an escape. It's like a portal opening for me to see a different life and wonder what I would do if I was living it. It helps me to see things differently, and I start to notice more things when I look around my own life. It kind of helps me ignore pain, as well. When something bad happens, I tend to sit down with a book and throw myself into the story, allowing everything else to disappear.

Reading is one of those things that I wish everyone could do. I think everyone would be happier if they could pick up a good book and enjoy it; they would probably smile more.

[Angel327]

I read for the escapism,my job is stressful at best so when I'm home I need to get far away from reality at best,of course this is where fiction and fantasy comes in.Also for the education aspect of it as well,such as History,such as military,ancient,and cultural history.I can't be without a book.I just want to be surrounded by books.