Reading : Why Bother?

[LuvParker84]

The reason I like to read is because I totally regret not reading enough in high school and as soon i went to college it became unbearable for me to finish. SO i dropped out. And now i am stuck with the putter work jobs. So now when i have time I mostly read so more doors will open up for me. I understand I don't have to go to college in order to have a good job.

[whateverfloats]

This is a really good question but I've avoided answering it because I don't have a straight answer. My reasons for reading haven't remained perfectly constant throughout my life. When I was a kid I just loved reading because it is so immersive. You can be different people, see so many different places without ever leaving your room.

When I got a bit older reading also became a way to learn about the world more broadly. I acquired most of my education through books, and not school books. Reading also offered a world outside of my mundane life, an escape into a realm of ideas, poetry, and art that was so much more interesting than what was going on around me.

I don't read as much for pleasure anymore but I still look to books to enrich my life. That's the main purpose of art.

[Ilaha]

I read because I can

[TehDarkling]

orangefan9

It is much more pleasurable and stimulating than television IMO.

I agree with you right there. :3

[ColdheartedPsyko]

I originally got started reading because I hated having to listen to my bedtime stories as my mom read them. Instead, I would grab the book and read them myself. Listening to books is boring (probably why I hate Books on Tape).

Now I read because I find the story interesting and/or intriguing, want to see the author's take on an age-old cliche like zombies/vampires/werewolves/witches/serial killers/etc, or find the general topic of the book to be stimulating and wish to learn more about it (this applies mostly to non-fiction).

Reading also helps to enhance one's vocabulary and keep the mind stimulated. Not to mention your imagination can make the story a much better show than the folks in Hollywood.

[TehDarkling]

You know, I have always hates the books on tape crap.

If you're going to read it and try and grasp it, read it. Though I can understand where it has its uses. 3nodding

[ColdheartedPsyko]

TehDarkling

You know, I have always hates the books on tape crap.

If you're going to read it and try and grasp it, read it. Though I can understand where it has its uses. 3nodding

Useful if you have a reason for needing to get through the book, but probably not the best way to experience a book. Having some dry voice try to act out the emotions of the story as you drive to work or do whatever is extremely unappealing.

Of course, I am also not a fan of online fiction or Kindle. This is mostly because I prefer not to make my eyes bleed as I stare at a screen for my usual 4-5 hours of reading a night, and I have this strange desire to be holding the book as I read it. I love the feeling of a book while it rests in your hands, and I also really enjoy the smell you find in a small corner bookstore as you browse the shelves.

[Calliste Varne]

i read because it's like an excape to a different place. if it's a good book the author can really put u in the book. before i had my son i would read for at least 5 hours everyday! the longest i've read was a full day the day that the harelquin by lkh came out.

[Vale-Vane]

I love read but I must admit I started because my dad and one of my best friend were always reading so one day I decided to try and now I can't leave it. What I love about it is, as most of you have mentioned, how a book can transport you to another world. Most of the time when I'm reading a good story it's like I'm part of that, it's amazing and it helps me to belive there's sth elsae than a common life.

[preferences-lovely]

1. a very legal high.
3nodding
2. the feeling that you're not breathing, when you're so enraptured by the printed word.
3. the characters.
4. the feeling after you haven't read for a while, and then you pick up a book and dig in.
(the downside to reading though . . . when its so late your roommate complains about the light. plus burning_eyes )

[TehDarkling]

ColdheartedPsyko

TehDarkling

You know, I have always hates the books on tape crap.

If you're going to read it and try and grasp it, read it. Though I can understand where it has its uses. 3nodding

Useful if you have a reason for needing to get through the book, but probably not the best way to experience a book. Having some dry voice try to act out the emotions of the story as you drive to work or do whatever is extremely unappealing.

Of course, I am also not a fan of online fiction or Kindle. This is mostly because I prefer not to make my eyes bleed as I stare at a screen for my usual 4-5 hours of reading a night, and I have this strange desire to be holding the book as I read it. I love the feeling of a book while it rests in your hands, and I also really enjoy the smell you find in a small corner bookstore as you browse the shelves.

I heard the dry-voices in the Harry Potter tapes because a friend in high school was using them and it was NOT all that appealing to me. If people have a learning disability to a reading extent, tapes can help.

Never heard of Kindle, but fanfiction and the like is alright to me.

...I love that book smell so much. xD