No one ever had to spell me out why reading was good for me. I have loved it for as long I can remember - or at least for as long as I have been able to, which must be for about 20 years by now. As a kid I went to the library once a week and took about 3 books home with me every time. For a long period it was my only hobby, and my only source of fiction I might add, since we didn't have television at home for years. As a grown up I still don't have television, a conscious choice of me and my beau. And though I'll admit I watch series on my laptop quite regularly, reading is still my main pastime in the evening, and it still brings me so much joy.
Maybe you're already on my team, maybe you still need some convincing (If that is even possible? You're probably just a book lover or you're not. I don't quite know if you can become one). But anyhow, you're welcome to read my 5 reasons for reading more often a.k.a. my ode to books.
1. Let's face it, life isn't all jolly-fucking-joy and happiness. We all feel sad, alone and misunderstood sometimes - okay, a lot. Finding comfort in fictional characters can be very helpful at those times. In some cases because they have to deal with the same shit, which makes you feel less alone, other times because they just make you forget your own reality all together.
2. Our time on earth is limited, we can not have or do it all. Reading gives you the opportunity to live all sorts of lives, go places you'd never go in reality or do things that aren't even possible! Like marrying a 19th century gentleman with 5000 a year and a larg estate, or flying on broomsticks and travelling back in time.
3. Books do not only give you the possibility to enjoy the writer's creativity, they also urge you to use your own imagination. The writer provides the lines of the story, but it is the reader who colours between them.
4. Reading is a perfect way to relax in the evening, certainly the last half an hour before you head to bed. Contrary to televisions, laptops or phones, books don't have a light-emtting screen wich sends signals to your brain to stay awake. I personally find even find them helpful to calm my mind and tire my eyes.
5. When a book truly catches you, time and space stop to exist. In other words, magic happens.
