Why I Read

It's a trending topic right now on twitter, and has got me thinking about books and my lifelong affair with the written word.

Why do I read?  As a child I remember reading in quiet corners, avoiding conversation with siblings, ignoring piano lessons, gardening, chores, -pretending nothing existed but the world in the book that I held in my hands.  Early childhood, adolescence, adulthood, the affair continues...


I love the written word, the enchanting voice of the storyteller, the tales he weaves, drawing us into secret places, carefully placing us under delicate spells.  Stories transport us to destinations, to experience parallel lives, thoughts, and dreams.  Wanderlust.  I love travelling, books at my side, and if at home -I cosy up into my sofa and still wander the world. 


It's pure escapism, I love to run my fingers over the pages, -I like to cast my net far and wide - catching those magical butterflies, watch them flutter over my skin, if just for a short time.  It's a moment in time - a glimpse into another world before floating back into reality.  Sometimes I wish I could linger in those secret worlds where my favourite characters roam, put down roots and stay awhile.  How about you?  




Escape to Parallel Universes


Photo credit via wehearit

Comments

Meredith said…
Escapism: that's totally why I read, too. It's amazing how caught up you can get in a good story and how much you can feel for a fictional character. There's nothing quite like that. I love this post!
Ann said…
I love to read. It allows me to explore other lives and other worlds. Sometimes it allows me to be other people. I get so caught up in the book I am reading I often feel transported and then I miss them when I close that book.
Talei said…
Meredith, thank you, and I agree, it's amazing how you do get caught up with the characters and their dilemmas, often willing them to do the right thing, -sometimes shaking fists at them but mostly cheering them on. ;)

Ann, you know when you've read a good book. You miss the story, and remember it long after the last page is closed. Thanks so much for stopping by! ;)
Kittie Howard said…
I love your blog, Talei! You always have the most insightful, thoughtful topics. Your magic with words captured so much why I love to read. Escapism. Relaxation. Educational. Magical. And always humbling for there is so much to read, to learn, to enjoy, to question, to ponder...ah, the beauty of the written word!
Talei said…
Kittie, thank you for such wonderful comments! You're very kind and I'm very chuffed. ;) Educational, another great reason, and we all learn from books too at a young age. *deep sigh* There is so much to read, and so little time, methinks. Happy reading!
Anonymous said…
Growing up, I was always reading, and writing! What else is there? LOL

Yes, so much to read, so little time. I've noticed as I'm getting older that time is really shrinking!!
Ann Best, Long Journey Home
mshatch said…
I've always read, ever since I could I was was always wrapped up in some book. I remember laying beofre the fireplace at night reading my parents' readers digest book and my 13th Christmas when I got LOTR trilogy. You can guess what I did that vacation. I just love books and stories and the magic of words. Thank you for this post!
Melissa Gill said…
Same for me. I love to escape into a world that might be in another Universe, or right down the street.
Anonymous said…
Pure, unadultered escapism. Leaving the real world for a time to revel in the mysteries, delights and sadnesses of another. Yup, there's nothing better than someone else's story...and you know we all have one!
Al said…
Escapism, pure escapism.
Perhaps not strangely, I write for the same reason.
Mya said…
For all the above reasons we read. To learn, to experience, to imagine, to laugh, to explore our own emotions and thoughts - why, sometimes we learn more about ourselves, and of course to laugh for the shear pleasure of laughing.
Today I read a wide variety of subjects but as a little kid I read about animals, especially horses, and my other love - mysteries. I have known Nancy Drew for several decades. I hope all the Carolyn Keenes appreciate the number of books I finished while stealing lights with a flashlight under the covers.
My dad thot it would be fun to have reading kids, he did not count on me reading everything in the house by the time I was 8 including Chairman Mao's manifesto
Reading is an addiction for me, I really don't know if I escape am just too high from reading.
Evelyn J. Quinn said…
When I was in high school, I would slip out of class early before my friends ( I would find an excuse..I'm a delicate individual so it was rare when I didn't have a migraine) and run to the library. While there, I would hide in the aisles and read to my heart's content. I did this for years, and would simply apologize to my friends and hang out with them after school or on the weekends. Oddly, it is still my fondest memory from that time of my life. What a wonderful escape literature is.

-J.
Golden Eagle said…
I read for the same reasons. :)
Melissa Amateis said…
Probably escapism for me, as well. I was just like you - ignoring everything around me but my book. My brothers used to get upset at me during the summer since I was always reading. They wanted me to go outside and play baseball, but I was too busy with my books!
Talei said…
Ann, you're so right! ;) And I find time slipping by so quickly too.

MsHatch, LOTR,really magical. I loved the Hobbit, we were read that in Primary school. Wonderful! Thanks so much for stopping by. ;)

Melissa G, I think we are huge on escaping real life! That's why we write. ;)

Nathalie, I like that, we all have own stories too, so very true!

Al, I agree. Absolutely, all these reasons drive us to write as well. ;)

Mya, I had a huge dose of Enid Blyton early in life, and I also remember Nancy Drew, and Trixie Belden before moving onto Agatha Christies mysteries. Flashlights under the blanket - you just bought back some memories. (we call flashlights torch in NZ) ;)

Jo, Chairman Mao by the time you were 8 years? Thats awesome! I didn't discover him until much later. ;)

Evelyn, I think we're all nodding at your comment. Also, the really great thing about reading a book is that you are never alone. ;)

Golden Eagle, ;-) thanks!

Melissa, great to hear! Funny how we all did the same thing. Most of my fanmily big readers and storytellers but there were moments when everyone would be playing outside, and I would be hiding away in some hidden nook reading. *deep sigh*
Terry Stonecrop said…
Such a wonderful post! I also love the traveling aspect.

My grandmother was a great story teller. I used to ask her over and over as a child to tell the stories of her life, which were so exotic to me. So, she got me hooked.

But also, yes escapism. I love to curl up on a rainy day with a cup of tea and a book and be taken away to someone else's life. And the beach wouldn't be the same without beach reads, would it?

Also, I admit, when things are going not as good as they might, to escape to someone else's problems:) Misery does love company.
Talei said…
Hello Lovely,

Your Grandmother sounds wonderful, it's so nice to grow up with such a great influence. My mother is a great storyteller, I think thats where our love for writing comes from but both my parents were big on reading.

Beach reads, holidays, rainy days - all perfect settings to lie back and read. ;)

Happy reading and writing dear friend. x

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