Top Ten Tuesday – Reasons Why I Love Reading
Hello everyone and welcome to today’s Top Ten Tuesday post! Today’s topic is ten reasons why I love reading and honestly, you could let me ramble all day and I guarantee you I’ll have more than ten reasons. However, I will narrow it down to my favourites to stick to the post rules (but also not to bore you to death!) I feel like this is probably something I have discussed before in one way or another. But, this is a fun post topic and as everyone has their own reasons, it’s a good way to find out a bit about me.
So, enough rambling – let’s get into it!
Escapism
Reading is escapism from our daily, mundane lives. It gives us the opportunity to sweep your day‘s troubles under the carpet and forget about them. Becoming immersed in a completely new world or a new character helps us to separate ourselves, even if just for a little while, from the boringness that life can sometimes be. It is probably one of the main reasons why I read. That’s not to say my life is terrible, because it absolutely isn’t. None of us can deny that life can be monotonous at times – and it is at these times where reading plays a huge role for me.
Relaxing
I personally find reading very relaxing. Sitting down on my sofa with a cup of tea and my nose in a book is my ideal ‘me time’. I love it because I can focus all my attention on one thing. Usually my mind is going ten to the dozen with things I have done, things I need to do, things are probably forgotten to do and much more besides. Picking up a book and focusing on what I’m reading sweeps those thoughts away. Whether that’s a good thing or not is up to you… but I enjoy the respite!
To learn
I’m always trying to read either new genres, or taking historical fiction as an example, new time periods. I may have left school a few years ago now, but every day is still a school day and there is plenty that I don’t know. I enjoy learning new things and so branching out in topics I’m interested in already is one of my favourite ways to read.
Spark imagination
In a world where any information we want is just a few clicks away, I really enjoy the thought process that goes into Reading. Google any book characters name and you could probably find images of the actor who is played the film version of the character. Just by looking at that image, your perception that that character is formed by their physical appearance.
I personally think there is a magic to taking the words written on a page and constructing your own version of the character based on them. I firmly believe that everyone reads a book differently and will come to very different conclusions based on the information provided. More and more I see a distinct lack of people thinking for themselves, but this is something that is definitely required when reading.
To experience living in another’s shoes
There are billions of people on this planet and yet without the ability to walk in somebody else’s shoes, we only have a very limited perspective on life. Reading books gives people the opportunity to see through someone else’s eyes. In my opinion, reading offers an intimate way of getting to know a character. Not only do we experience their completely different lives, but we also get an insight into the way they think and perceive the world themselves.
I don’t think this is ever something we could really do without the written word, and so I’m grateful that I can experience somebody else’s life, even for a short while, thanks to books.
Challenge ideals/perception
This really goes hand in hand with the point above. Unless we are prompted to think about our ideals and our perception of people/events etc, we are never going to change our minds. Reading definitely gives you the opportunity to do this-by putting yourself in another person choose and seeing it from another point of view!
Invest time
It’s apparent that I am the kind of person who likes to invest their time. Whether it is reading or my crafting hobbies (knitting and crochet), I get a lot not just from the end product, but also from the ‘doing’ part. I find characters a lot more relatable if I’ve taken the time to read their story, feel their emotions and experience it with them, rather than watch a film narrating it. It personally isn’t long or in-depth enough for me. Everyone is different, but this is just my perspective.
Improve my writing
There has definitely been an improvement in my writing skills since I’ve started reading more. I don’t think it matters what medium you use, but exposing yourself to language and literature will ultimately influence your own style. I have the advantage that I read a wide variety of books and I think each has played their part in shaping my own narrative voice. It’s something we use everyday (even without having a blog or a hobby that involves writing), so everyone can benefit!
It’s a reasonably accessible hobby
With a lot of places having access to libraries, and even a plethora of free or discounted literature online, most have the potential to access a book. Given that there are so many great things that reading can teach us, the accessibility means that there is no reason that someone couldn’t expose themselves to these benefits. For the most part.
Of course there are exceptions. I am writing this as someone who had access to education and can borrow books from the library, download them from the Internet or even walk into one of many local bookshops nearby. Not everybody will have these things. Even so, where there may not be a range of books available I feel sure that at least something will be available to a lot of people.
You can read anywhere!
Okay, so it’s probably unacceptable to read a chapter during a team meeting at work or such like. But, you don’t have to wait until the following evening to watch the next episode of that series your bingeing. Books are so portable and they can be read pretty much anywhere. At home, at work or travelling. The birth of e-readers has made reading even more flexible. I remember the times when I used to take three or four physical books on holiday in my suitcase for a week or ten days. In my later teenage years I was able to read George R. R. Martin’s A Dance with Dragons on holiday without exceeding my luggage allowance; thanks to the birth of the e-reader! My entire downloaded library was in my hand at any given time. I had so much freedom and access to what I wanted to read that I didn’t particularly have to plan in advance what I was taking with me.
Reading doesn’t have to be done in blocks of time; if it suits you you could easily read 10 or 15 minutes at once. Turn on a regular basis and you could easily get through a book. If snatching that time works best in your lunch hour or whilst you’re on the go then you can absolutely do that.
These are just my top ten reasons why I love reading, and I would love to hear yours! Please let me know in the comments!
Jasnah Kholin pretended to enjoy the party, giving no indication that she intended to have one of the guests killed.
was all too glad to be leaving the stuffy room, which stank of too many perfumes mingling. A quartet of women played the flute on a raised platform across from the lively hearth, but the music had long since grown tedious.
People ought to think for themselves, Captain Vimes says. The problem is, people only think for themselves if you tell them to.
“I told Lord Harms I’d return Steris to him. And I will. That is that.”
Granny Weatherwax made a great play of her independence and self-reliance. But the point about that kind of stuff was that you needed someone around to be proudly independent and self-reliant at. People who didn’t need people needed people around to know that they were the kind of people who didn’t need people.
Never throw the first punch. If you have to throw the second, try to make sure they don’t get up for a third. 
The research shows that groups of friends who allow members to disagree and still be friends are more likely to come to better decisions. So the next time you are in a group of people trying to reach consensus, be the asshole. Every group needs one, and it might as well be you. 
It was clearly the room of a woman, but one who had cheerfully and without any silly moping been getting on with her life while all that soppy romance stuff had been happening to other people somewhere else, and been jolly grateful that she had her health. 
The thing about the path less travelled is that it is often less travelled for a good reason.
The conversation of human beings seldom interested him, but it crossed his mind that the males and females always got along best when neither actually listened fully to what the other one was saying. 
There were some things on which even they were united. No more policy statements, no more consultative documents, no more morale-boosting messages to all staff. This was Hell, but you had to draw the line somewhere. 
Listen,’ said Granny Weatherwax. ‘She’s well out of it, d’you hear? She’ll be a lot happier as a queen!’ 
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