Why Read?

I read because it gives me a way to escape the pressures of everyday life. When I’m reading, I become this whole new character inside the story of the novel that is seeing the plot line occur from afar. It lets me know that I’m not the only one with troubles or a hard time by letting me into others’ lives. When you’re holding that book it draws all of your attention to it and your stress seems to dwindle away between the lines of the text. You become consumed with wanting to know what happens to the people whose lives you’ve become enthralled with. Although the theme of these novels may be sad, the feelings you get from these novels are something you cannot accomplish from playing a video game or scrolling through your Facebook newsfeed. 

I read because I was taught at a very young age. The first book I can remember my grandpa gave to me was The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. Even now I’m scared to re-read that book because I was so overwhelmed when I first opened the crumpled pages and these mile-long words were spread across. I was so intimated that I never read unless I was with my grandpa. We would sit for hours and hours sounding out words and deciphering what the author meant by some of the strange sayings. I greatly appreciate the way Mr. Twain can bring the young and elderly together in one book, a book that taught me the feeling of accomplishment once I was finished. That’s why I read.