For the Love of Reading!

[Lilly]

I have always loved reading and books. I make a distinction here as it is possible to just own books without having read them yet and just look at them and give a sigh of pleasure and content that they are yours, feel a stirring in your heart at the thought of so many secret worlds waiting to be journeyed through, so many beautiful stories to live through and the abundance of words, beautiful, tricky, sometimes tongue twisting words to learn, rediscover their meanings and just enjoy them.
My love for books is unconditional, non-discriminatory, I love them one and all. And then I read them and I realize that they love me back. They give back the love I have for them. How is it possible? Well, reading is my therapy. And I do not use this word lightly. In my short to medium length life, I have gone through many therapies, I have suffered many bouts of two crippling mental illnesses (one is depression, the other I will not mention for there is still too much stigma attached to it in my opinion) and I know I will suffer many more. I know today that reading has gotten me through all of that. When nothing else worked I would read. When the outside world was too much, I read. When I thought I would go irreparably insane I escaped into reading. Books gave me, over and over again, what the real world couldn’t give, books were to me what the real people couldn’t be. And then what a blessing! After having suffered destructive episodes, I would go back to the normal world and discover that I could read books for the sheer pleasure of it.
Yes, books and reading were and will still be my saviors. I owe much to them, they owe me nothing and yet they still keep giving.
Do any of you feel the same way? Or do you think otherwise? Let me know, I'm curious.

[TexasRed]

I'm with you on the love of books and of reading (as separate things). I think part of my love of books is the anticipation of the fun of future reading -- much like having a well-stocked pantry it assures me I won't run out of what I need :)

For me, books are my best mental vacation. When I'm stressed, I can escape for a short while, let my conscious mind deal with the conflicts and issues in the book's plot & let me subconscious sort out whatever stresses exist in my "real" life. By the time I return from the book, I feel much more calm & may have all kinds of new problem-solving ideas pop up "on their own."

[Lilly]

I like you comparison to the well-stocked pantry.
Mental vacation is just it a lot of times, some people watch mind-numbing silly reality shows and we read books.

I would never trade places

[Phillip Reynolds]

For me when I started getting into books when I was in High school reading was an escape. Why ? because most of the people I knew in High school were jerks. So books for me became a best friend. Also they gave me a connection to my Father. We would discuss an share books we talked about. The more we talked about books the more I loved to read.
we still talk about and share books today.
The varieties of books I read over the years has changed but my love for books grows stronger & stronger.
(Back in High School I loved Sci-Fi & Agatha Christie Mysteries. Now I love Spy Novels and try to read New Authors all the time)

[Anna Balasi]

There was a time in my life when we were tightening our belts and pinching out pennies. I couldn't buy the things I wanted at the drop of a hat and everytime my hubby and I went window shopping, we would constantly exchange looks over things we liked as if asking one another wordlessly, "Could we afford it? And if we can, do I really need it?" Personally, I do love to shop, and there was yet another time in my life that I bought tons of clothes, shoes, makeup, and I went to salons to get my nails done, my eyebrows plucked, etc., etc. So the penny pinching... it wasn't easy for me. But let me tell you one thing--during those harder times, when we did have extra money and I'd be asked what I wanted, I ALWAYS chose books. I remember telling more than one of my friends, "I'd rather buy books than clothes." And I guess you can say it was during those times that I realized just how much I loved reading.

Sometimes, it doesn't even matter to me whether the writing's good or bad. When I didn't have the money to buy just anything, I would go online and read stories written by amateurs. I would read magazines and heck--brochures and catalogues. I would open a Victoria's Secret catalog and read the blurbs, "Comfy robe and pajama set perfect for cold winter nights!" If I were bored out of my mind, I'd read anything I could get my hands on--cereal box labels, medicinal facts attached to pill bottles, the nutritional facts on a candy wrapper...

When asked if I wanted an iPod for my birthday (obviously, the cashflow had improved by then), I had asked, "What for?" Until now, I still don't know, because what use would an iPod be to me? On the train? I'd rather read. On the treadmill? Frankly, I'd rather read the subtitles on the televisions in my gym. Driving? That's not even legal.

So yes, I love to read. I love having my books. I love reading above all other forms of entertainment. I still enjoy a good movie and a good TV show, but only if it's about something I'd read, anyway.

[Lilly]

I agree with you 100% how it really doesn't matter what I read. And not until you pointed it out I realized I do exactly what you do: read blurbs in the brochures, backs of cosmetic boxes, anything that's printed I'll read.
And yes, I will also spend my money on books before i spend it on anything else.
Thanks for the post Anna.

[Ignacio]

I love reading. Reading can take you to different worlds. The way I see it, a good book is like a good friend. :)