Why I Love Reading

There are many, many reasons why I love reading.

I love the way a character can hide in your head, influencing your thoughts at the strangest moments.

I love it when I lose track of time because I'm 'in a book'.

I love the way books smell when they're new, and I love that smell even more when they're old.

I love how I can have the longest debates with my bookworm friends, arguing about which characters should get together or how to pronounce the names in Fantasy books.

I love the feeling when I find a new bookshop, and when I'm allowed to stay in there for hours.

(Yes, I really have been here. It's Old Pier Books in Morecambe, England.)

I love the way my bookshelves look, like they're holding old friends.

(That really is my bedroom, in case you were wondering.)

I love meeting my favourite authors, or even just reading their Twitter feeds, because it feels like I've found their books all over again.

I love recommending books to anyone who'll listen.

I love hiding in my school library, no matter how nice the weather is outside.

But most of all, I love how reading gives me a thousand different lives to live. I can choose which characters to love and which to hate, which book worlds to rest in and which to run away from. So, what I'd like to say is that I pity those who don't read. I mean, it's their choice, and no-one can force somebody else to love a book (trust me, I've tried). But it still seems unfortunate - why just live in the real world when you can have a million more?

We all have different reasons to love reading - what are yours? And what do you have to say to those who don't?

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Labels: Reading Life