Why Do I Read?

I keep getting asked this question. And maybe it's because I seem to consume an abnormal amount of books [46 done in 75 book challenge for 2012!]. Or maybe it's because I'm always talking about some book I just read [and it's probably odd]. But maybe it's because a lot of my generation doesn't read any more.

Don't get me wrong, the Internet is awesome. Blogs, well, rock. But have they effected our appetite for reading? Ask a teenager what was the last book they read for fun, or what was the last website they read for fun. Hopefully, with the recent [5+ years] outpouring of great books aimed at young adults [Hunger Games!] there are more youth reading actual books. But even my post-college generation has given up the past time as well.

So why do I read? Simple. I love it. I love being transported to new places, learning new things, and letting my imagination run wild. Just in the month of August I've finished books that have taken me through centuries of history of New York & England, uncovered theology of a surviving church in during Nazi Germany, walked alongside a child soldier from the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, discovered the inspiration for one of the most successful charities in the world right now, been wrecked in my faith journey, battled giant rats alongside of cockroaches & spiders in underworld New York, and solved crimes from Missouri to Norway. There's a rich and exciting world to be found in the pages [or electronic pages] of a book, that TV & movies just cannot capture. And I love some good TV & movies as well.

Another reason I read is because it makes me smarter. I learn new words, I discover new places and I consume information that I may not have known before. And I get smarter. Maybe it's a selfish reason, but hey, I like getting smarter!

And as an aspiring one-day hopeful writer, reading will only make me a better writer.

So close your laptops and switch of the Xbox and go read something! You won't regret it.

Need recommendations, check out GoodReads.