Why Do You Read?
When I set out to write this post, I thought this topic would be pretty simple. Why do you read? Turns out... Well, it's not. Maybe it shouldn't be so surprising? What do you think?
The Origins of Little Reader Annika
{This is basically the superhero origin story here, I guess?}
Long, long ago I lived in a pretty chaotic household when I was a kid - reading just so happened to be something I could do when the kids (as in, my younger sisters) were asleep or busy with homework, and it was something I could do for me. Pretty much the only thing. I was that quiet, shy girl who never spoke in class so it seems I was fated for this bookish life, maybe?
{Finding myself? Cliché subheadings abound today, guys...}
You know how it's supposed to be so intense and everything's new and wonderful and stressful when you start university? Because of all that (and because I was still recuperating from a long-time health condition) I didn't really think about reading too much. I just did reading for my course - articles and textbooks.
And then I slowly realised that I was really unhappy. And it wasn't because I didn't like my course. It was just that I wasn't reading at all, and I didn't have any time for myself because I felt the pressure to go out at night and spend time with people I didn't really care about [BFF - if you're reading this, I totally didn't hate spending time with you. Maybe because we basically never went clubbing. I love you.]
So I got back to reading. Old favourites, like Maugham's the Razor's Edge, Pride and Prejudice. All the fun stuff. It was like, getting a part of my identity back? Trying on an old jumper and seeing it fit just as well as it always did, and that actually it was even more comfortable than it was a few years back. That kind of feeling.
{Learn from your mistakes...Or at least try to}
I'm really good at making the same mistakes again and again ad infinitum. [I am the queen of finishing assignments an hour before the deadline. It's the worst habit ever] but I've kept from breaking my habit of reading. I don't think a week goes by where I don't read at least a book or two. The thing is, it keeps me happy. It makes me believe in humanity, and morality, and kindness and an assortment of other wonderful things (like dragons!).
Reading helps me process things that go on in my over-active mind, and lets me seem like a relatively normal person on the outside. It keeps me sane. Pretty important things, really.
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That's enough of me rambling on and on. Tell me about you! What made you a reader, and why do you keep going? What's the best thing about reading for you?
About the Author
Unprepared and anxious in the face of daily life (despite nearly a quarter century of life experience) Annika is a strange girl whose love of books, wine, and coffee knows no bounds. She also likes sloths, dragons, and pugs.
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