Why We Read

        Through the words of others, we are allowed a glance into strangers’ minds. We can see the world from different points of view. We can understand opinions that are not ours. In that sense, reading a book is like listening to a person, and hearing their voice. Yet sometimes, we can go even further than simply comprehending. In some ways, reading is similar to actually living as another being. Through books, we can assume lives that we have never had before. We can wear the shoes of others, and learn their inner makings. Even though this may be fascinating to some, most read for another reason.

        The majority of people read because of the stories that books hold inside their pages. The power of stories is colossal, as they have the ability to block the outside, absorbing readers into a whole other world. Readers have the chance to momentarily escape reality and bring themselves into a tale that can be imagined differently by each reader. This suggests that reading books practices the readers’ creativity, in being able to envision their own versions of the story. Equally important, discovering and exploring new stories can be enthralling. They have the capability of making readers laugh, cry, think and dream. They can bring out the emotions inside of us, and offer some of our lives with a sense of completion. With that said, we would have a significant reason to read.

        In this world, countless people have other things to pay attention to than reading. We all have our own lives to live, and our own things to do. Despite this, books should not be forgotten. Someone once said that books were the dreams of authors put on paper, only written so that readers could dream alongside them. Thus we should not ignore others’ dreams. We should remember and honor them instead. And if we would just take a moment and look, we would understand that reading would help us too.