WHY I LOVE BOOKS...

I am an avid reader. Books are my addiction and reading is my vice. 

I love how books take me around the world, through different cultures, through a world of fantasy, through danger, heartbreak, love and betrayal.

When I’ve nothing to do, I read and give me a good novel and I can finish that in 5-6 hours. Everyday, I can finish around 1-2 books, provided that I don’t have anything to do.

People always ask me why I am so obsessed in books. Here are my reasons

1. Books are a means of escape

Whenever I feel bad, I read and then I quickly forget my depression and take on the emotions given off by the setting, the characters and the plot of a novel.

Whenever I am sad or worried or just want to past the time, I read a novel and I am instantly consumed by it. Before I knew it, time has flown and I have finished yet another good novel.

2. Books make me fall in love.

It’s pathetic really. But I don’t have someone special right now. But through pages, paragraphs, and lines of cleverly written words, I fall in love. 

I fall and I remember the joy of being in love. I don’t have it now and there’s no one that makes my heart beat except for the gorgeous heroes authors write about.

3. Books make me remember my own experiences.

I am engrossed in reading and then I encounter a paragraph about a normal day-to-day event, or a special thing, or whatever it is that the lead character experienced. Suddenly, it was as if I was catapulted back through time and I find myself saying “Hey! I’ve experienced that!”

And then I continue reading and the emotions in the words take me back to the same time I’ve felt it for real. 

4. Books teach me about pain, death and heartbreak.

It is sad when a character dies. It is heartbreaking when one part of a love team dies. Sometimes, I even find myself shedding tears for a hero or heroine that died and then find myself cursing the book and not wanting to read it anymore.

But then again, that isn’t what life is all about and death or heartbreak written inside pages only want to teach me a lesson.

If I gave up and didn’t read the novel anymore because they broke up or someone died then I wouldn’t know about the twist that comes after a few more pages. I wouldn’t know how the story went on or that it only got better and better.

This is the same with life. Just because an event made us stumble, it doesn’t mean we should continue lying on the ground. It means we should get up and keep on going for there are still a handful of pages before we reach the words “The End”

5. Books are my first class tickets around the world.

Travelling across the globe is my dream. And I think this dream is also shared by many. It's a great feeling to see new sights, meet new people, eat different food and encounter a new culture!

However, only the priveleged few can travel because this is so expensive.

But through books we can experience all these and more! It's a first class seat for you and you'll also get to experience all the hero/heroines' experiences at no expense! It's totally free. :)

Also, by holding a book in your hand, you get to travel not only to a different island or country but to different worlds as well!

There are several fantasy books which are so great that I become so immeresed that I even find myself wishing for that world to be my reality instead of this one.

6. Books teach me lessons

Isn’t this a cliche already? Haven’t we been taught since we were young that after reading a story we were supposed to look for the moral lesson?

I think this reason warrants no further explanation since this has already been ingrained in us since we were young.

Just remember: however crappy a story is, it still contains a lesson. If you looked hard enough and didn’t see the lesson then maybe you only read with your eyes and not with your heart.

To truly understand the written words, one must not only read with the eyes but also with the heart.

So what are you waiting for? Go find a good book, curl up and read and set yourself for an adventure, a fantasy, love, suspense or whatever magic it is that is contained in the pages you hold. :)