Why Do You Read?

When people ask me why I read, my response is always the same. "I read for entertainment, to be distracted, as an escape from the real world."

And in a sense, this is true. I LOVE to read, and the term "escaping in a book" holds real validity for me, as that is exactly what I like to do. I like to leave my daily life and be in the book. Therefore, I've always thought that my favorite kinds of books were the kind that are there to entertain.

Not to give some moral lesson or to teach or to make me aware of something.


But lately, I've been reading more and more books that are doing just that - making me sit back and think. About world issues, about personal and/or political problems, about things external to me. But more importantly than that, about ME. And about the issues and ideas that are important to me and WHY. Why do I care about what I care about, why do I believe in what I believe in, and how and why is it different (and the same) as what other people have chosen to care about. (Because, when you really think about it, caring is a choice).

And all this thinking has INSPIRED me - I've been feeling inspired to be a better person (by my definition, not someone else's), to go out and do something about the things I care about, to make myself more aware of my surroundings, on a personal and on a global level.

And I've been loving it.

As such, I'm thinking I might have to redefine "the reason for which I read." Yes, I read to be entertained and to escape from the real world, but I also read to be INSPIRED. I am finding more and more that, if a book doesn't make me think at all, I am quickly bored with it, but I might still enjoy it. But if it doesn't inspire me at all, well then, I might as well have just spent 4 hours playing Dr. Mario (aka awesomest game ever) instead.

So now, when people ask me why I read, I will have to say "I read for entertainment, to be distracted, as an escape from the real world, but most importantly, to be INSPIRED."

So now I want to know: Why do YOU read?