Why Do You Read?

Why do you read? Has always been one of the most recurring questions I get from almost everyone I encounter. I guess it's a pretty reasonable question, I mean, reading takes up so much time, it strains your eyes, and it's expensive! I definitely understand when people ask why I do it so much.


But the thing is, reading is just like all the other hobbies; painting takes up time, strains eyes, and costs a lot! And so does all the other activities out there. I guess what makes a hobby or activity more exciting and meaningful is when a person decides that the time and money spent is worth it. All activities can be boring unless it means something to you.

And reading means a lot to me.

I've been reading for as early as I can remember (not even kidding). My parents were big readers and I grew up in a house full of books. My mom was fully supportive of my reading hobby [and fully funded all my trips to the bookstore]. I read a lot of middle grade books like Junie B. Jones, Amber Brown, and then those written by Andrew Clements like The Report Card, and a lot more.

As I grew older, I was introduced to more books [and series] that literally changed my life. My parents gave me their copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone when I was 11. I remember it being so old and ragged, so much that the pages weren't just yellow, they were brown! The cover was missing some colors, and some of it's edges, even! But it didn't make the book less magical.

Harry Potter changed my life in so many ways. I won't expound much on this because this post will end up being about Harry Potter, but this series will always have a special place in my heart.

Soon after, when I graduated middle school, I started reading more popular series like the Percy Jackson series, the Heroes of Olympus, the Hunger Games, the Maze Runner — my love for this trilogy, which you'll know if you've been here a while, is too much to explain in words.

Not that I wasn't able to appreciate reading when I was younger, but I just definitely appreciate it more now that I'm older. I feel like mainly because during my middle grade books phase, I assumed everybody was reading. I was used to being surrounded by people who read a lot (my brother and sister), that I just assumed everybody did it and everybody enjoyed and loved it as much as I did. When I grew a bit older, I realized that that's not really how it is.

A lot of people thought reading was boring. It was only a source of eye sore and wasted time. I couldn't agree less.

I read because it's the complete opposite of boring! Books tell stories that allow us to go to different places and experience different lives. Through books I was able to connect with paper characters and empathize with them. Does it ever hit you that millions of people have read Harry Potter, and each one has created a mental image of Hogwarts all on their own? I'm certain no Hogwarts would look exactly the same. And that's absolutely beautiful. We read the same words, the same stories, but the impact it has, the images we make from it, they all vary.

I am still in awe of how magical books are; they connect people all over the world. I've gained friends from Australia and the UK because of our shared love for Harry Potter. I've met dozens of writers, just as interested and amazed at the Maze Runner trilogy as I am. I've spent nights flipping through pages and building theories withe friends for the next installments of books we love.

I don't understand how books can be an eyesore. Have they even seen books? The covers are freaking incredible. Some are perfectly minimal, Here's a collection of some of my favorite book covers that are just breathtakingly beautiful:

Sure it can sometimes lead to bad eyesight, I admittedly, have bad eyesight because I used to read in the dark, but isn't that beautiful? No, not bad eyesight, but to be so engrossed in something to the point that you'd spend even hours after lights off for it?

As for the cost of books, well, that's something I honestly struggle with too. But writers, authors, are people who [mostly] write for a living. I know the pain of writing and I also know the joy of being rewarded after being able to work blood and sweat to produce a story, a book. So when I buy books, I try to set aside the fact that a large part of that money will go to the company of the bookstore. I like to think I'm thanking the writer for giving me something I'll treasure forever; his/her story.

And that's pretty much it. That's why I read.

TL;DR
I read because it's magical, it's amazing, it's incredible, it's beautiful.

Anyway, it's been a while, I know. But I'm happy to be back and I'm looking forward to writing more. I'm not sure if anyone's still out there reading whatever I write, but if there is, thank you :)