Why do I read so much? You might as well ask why is the sky blue?
But seriously folks, I’ve always been a reader. Not just a reader, but a speedy and voracious reader. It is not unusual at all for me to read a 500 page novel in 3 or 4 hours. I’m sure I’ve read thousands of books in my lifetime. Ever since I was a child I’ve loved reading. I have vivid memories of staying up late and reading while I was supposed to be sleeping and sneaking off to “go to the bathroom” while we were doing chores and then sitting in there reading until someone yelled at me. I loved reading so much and read so often that the way my parents used to get me to toe the line was to threaten to take my books away. Seriously.
Me reading circa 1977 or so.
When I’m reading I focus so much that I won’t hear people talking to me. I can tune out almost anything–tv, music, conversation, construction noises–anything when I’m reading a good book.
As I’ve gotten older I don’t read fiction as much as I used to. It isn’t that I’ve stopped enjoying fiction–I just find it hard to stop reading once I start and I’ve always got so many things I’m trying to accomplish during my day. If I read fiction during the day I will actually set a timer so that I am reminded to stop and go back to other “productive” things.
Just because I take all these books out doesn’t mean I read every word in all of them. Except the Hardy Boys–those I read out loud to the kiddos.
Non fiction is easier–much less of a “page turner”. I love learning new things and tend to follow a new interest a tiny bit obsessively at first. So when I got interested in gardening I just kept reading and checking out every book that looked interesting from the library (and not just our library–the 4 county library system). Although I’ll ready some books from cover to cover, after I’ve got a good basic understanding of a topic I do tend to be more of a “skimmer”. I’ll sit there on the sofa at night while Yankee Bill is watching the news or TV show and flip through a book, reading certain parts, skimming over others. I even enjoy “reading” cookbooks–I’ll read the intro, directions, and skim over all the recipes, stopping to read anything that looks particularly interesting or unusual.
I can learn so much by reading–gain experience from lots of people who have tried things in many different ways. I can’t always remember exactly where I read what bit of interesting information, but I’ll remember the concepts and general content. It’s how I assimilate information in general–my brain works by gathering large amounts of data on a topic and then seemingly jumping right to a solution or decision about how I want to proceed. I can be a very linear thinker when I need to be (like when I’m planning something or trying to be persuasive), but this “gestalt” type process is actually how my thought processes work naturally.
So why do I read so much? Because I enjoy it. I enjoy reading a story and being taken away by the characters (far more than I enjoy TV to be honest). I enjoy learning new things-stretching my brain and coming up with ideas and plans for what I could do (even if some of it I will never do). I like learning everything I can about topics that pique my interest.
I just love reading.
Also in the “Why” Series:
Read on!