Why Reading is So Addictive
I find that most people fall into one of several arenas when it comes to reading.
1. They absolutely love reading, bombard you with book recommendations, and try to read at least two books a month.
2. They say that they love reading, but a busy lifestyle, kids, or demanding job doesn't allow them the time that they'd like to read. They most likely haven't been able to read a book in quite a while.
3. They say that they've never been a reader, and may not have read a book since high school. Mostly, I find that these people just have never found a book or genre that interests them. I believe reading is for everyone, and if someone doesn't like it, they've just never found the type of reading that fits.
I most definitely fall into the first category to the point that I watch book videos on YouTube constantly, I update my Goodreads more than my Facebook account, and I'm constantly telling people to read the book that I just know will change their lives if they would only give it a shot!
I've been a reader ever since I can remember. Some of my favorite memories of elementary school are set in the library, I spent hours in the stacks in middle school and high school when I finished my work in class, and I even had the librarians at my high school write my college recommendation letters because I felt that they knew me more than any of my teachers.
In all of the ways that I am a reader, my husband is not. I've read more than 200 books in the past five years, and my husband has read maybe three. Because of this strange non-reading human being that I live with, I've begun to examine why reading is so addictive to me.
Even if I get into a "reading slump," as the kids on BookTube say, and don't read a book for several weeks, a new title or intriguing plot reel me back in, and I'm just as addicted as ever. I start scouring the internet and newspaper for my next great read, find myself thinking about the plots of books I've loved over the years, and find myself longing to go back into the literary headspace I've created for myself inside my mind.
I've come up with several reason why I think reading is so addictive to me, and I wanted to share them with you. If you relate to any of these things, please let me know in the comments. I'd love to hear what motivates you to keep reading, or even demotivates you from reading!
The new memories/ adventure: When I read, especially a novel I truly enjoy, my mind creates this entire space devoted to the characters, plot, emotions, etc. where I can re-live, ponder, and adventure. Even if I'm sick as a dog, awake late at night and can't sleep, sitting on my lunch break, or stuck waiting in a doctor office, books give my mind a new place to be other than in the monotonous, boring, or unfortunate situation I might currently find myself in. When my body can't travel, when my mind is stuck on something sad, or when I just need an escape, books provide me this kind of alternate universe. It's strange, but many books have actually become part of my memory, characters have become kind of friends that I perhaps have just lost touch with, and the lessons I've learned through the eyes of fictional situations have shaped my real-life decisions. This is the power of books and the written word, and it is truly addicting because there are an endless number of scenarios that you can experience through prose that you physically could never visit otherwise.
The desire to finish an entire story: So often in our own lives, we are waiting to see how a story will finish out. We are raising a child and don't yet know what they will do with their life, we just started a new relationship and don't know if it will be our last, we don't know if we will work in our job forever, or where we will be living in five years. Books, to me, offer a kind of peace that I don't often find in my own life. The author knows the ending to the story, and you can cover fast amounts of time and information within the pages of a story that you would never be able to process in your own life. I'm not sure how my own career will turn out, but I can read a book in which someone retires happily from a great company after 40 years of service. While I understand that we don't always get to know a character's entire story, and that many books end on cliffhangers, but still- those are all controlled. We know all that we need to know to make our assumptions, opinions, and to comprehend the story. We can read a book and know that while we may not know everything, the story is complete and all that was meant to be told has been. Unlike our own relationships and life events, we may never know everything that we need to, and we can't always fully comprehend a situation. I love reading because I, for a short time anyways, get to know everything applicable to the telling of a tale.
Finally, I believe I am addicted to reading because of the way that it expands my mind. So much of my personality has been shaped by fictional characters in a book, scenes that have never played out in real life, and scenarios which I could't ever humanly find myself in. This is fascinating to me, and in many ways, I find that my life is not just punctuated by my own life events, but those of hundreds of other people- authors, figments of imaginations, and historical figures who have died long before I was even born. I don't just get to draw from my own memory and experiences, but those of people who have led vastly different existences. I have been in the shoes of saloon women from the 1800s, cowgirls, space explorers, psychics, LGBT activists, queens, and peasants. Because of the minds of others, we have created this vast network of literary space in which we can all grow, learn, and share experiences.
If you haven't read a book in a while, or think that reading isn't for you, I would suggest speaking to a librarian. I really think that they are under-utilized resources, and they may be able to help you branch out.
Thanks for reading my thoughts, and happy reading on all of your other lit adventures!
P.S. If you have any book recommendations that you think will change my life if I just give them a chance, please leave them below. ;)
1. They absolutely love reading, bombard you with book recommendations, and try to read at least two books a month.
2. They say that they love reading, but a busy lifestyle, kids, or demanding job doesn't allow them the time that they'd like to read. They most likely haven't been able to read a book in quite a while.
3. They say that they've never been a reader, and may not have read a book since high school. Mostly, I find that these people just have never found a book or genre that interests them. I believe reading is for everyone, and if someone doesn't like it, they've just never found the type of reading that fits.
I most definitely fall into the first category to the point that I watch book videos on YouTube constantly, I update my Goodreads more than my Facebook account, and I'm constantly telling people to read the book that I just know will change their lives if they would only give it a shot!
I've been a reader ever since I can remember. Some of my favorite memories of elementary school are set in the library, I spent hours in the stacks in middle school and high school when I finished my work in class, and I even had the librarians at my high school write my college recommendation letters because I felt that they knew me more than any of my teachers.
In all of the ways that I am a reader, my husband is not. I've read more than 200 books in the past five years, and my husband has read maybe three. Because of this strange non-reading human being that I live with, I've begun to examine why reading is so addictive to me.
Even if I get into a "reading slump," as the kids on BookTube say, and don't read a book for several weeks, a new title or intriguing plot reel me back in, and I'm just as addicted as ever. I start scouring the internet and newspaper for my next great read, find myself thinking about the plots of books I've loved over the years, and find myself longing to go back into the literary headspace I've created for myself inside my mind.
I've come up with several reason why I think reading is so addictive to me, and I wanted to share them with you. If you relate to any of these things, please let me know in the comments. I'd love to hear what motivates you to keep reading, or even demotivates you from reading!
The new memories/ adventure: When I read, especially a novel I truly enjoy, my mind creates this entire space devoted to the characters, plot, emotions, etc. where I can re-live, ponder, and adventure. Even if I'm sick as a dog, awake late at night and can't sleep, sitting on my lunch break, or stuck waiting in a doctor office, books give my mind a new place to be other than in the monotonous, boring, or unfortunate situation I might currently find myself in. When my body can't travel, when my mind is stuck on something sad, or when I just need an escape, books provide me this kind of alternate universe. It's strange, but many books have actually become part of my memory, characters have become kind of friends that I perhaps have just lost touch with, and the lessons I've learned through the eyes of fictional situations have shaped my real-life decisions. This is the power of books and the written word, and it is truly addicting because there are an endless number of scenarios that you can experience through prose that you physically could never visit otherwise.
The desire to finish an entire story: So often in our own lives, we are waiting to see how a story will finish out. We are raising a child and don't yet know what they will do with their life, we just started a new relationship and don't know if it will be our last, we don't know if we will work in our job forever, or where we will be living in five years. Books, to me, offer a kind of peace that I don't often find in my own life. The author knows the ending to the story, and you can cover fast amounts of time and information within the pages of a story that you would never be able to process in your own life. I'm not sure how my own career will turn out, but I can read a book in which someone retires happily from a great company after 40 years of service. While I understand that we don't always get to know a character's entire story, and that many books end on cliffhangers, but still- those are all controlled. We know all that we need to know to make our assumptions, opinions, and to comprehend the story. We can read a book and know that while we may not know everything, the story is complete and all that was meant to be told has been. Unlike our own relationships and life events, we may never know everything that we need to, and we can't always fully comprehend a situation. I love reading because I, for a short time anyways, get to know everything applicable to the telling of a tale.
Finally, I believe I am addicted to reading because of the way that it expands my mind. So much of my personality has been shaped by fictional characters in a book, scenes that have never played out in real life, and scenarios which I could't ever humanly find myself in. This is fascinating to me, and in many ways, I find that my life is not just punctuated by my own life events, but those of hundreds of other people- authors, figments of imaginations, and historical figures who have died long before I was even born. I don't just get to draw from my own memory and experiences, but those of people who have led vastly different existences. I have been in the shoes of saloon women from the 1800s, cowgirls, space explorers, psychics, LGBT activists, queens, and peasants. Because of the minds of others, we have created this vast network of literary space in which we can all grow, learn, and share experiences.
If you haven't read a book in a while, or think that reading isn't for you, I would suggest speaking to a librarian. I really think that they are under-utilized resources, and they may be able to help you branch out.
Thanks for reading my thoughts, and happy reading on all of your other lit adventures!
P.S. If you have any book recommendations that you think will change my life if I just give them a chance, please leave them below. ;)
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