Allison Symes's Blog - Posts Tagged "getting-people-to-read"
Why Read Then?
Strange question to put on Goodreads, isn't it? We all love books and stories. Reading is a way of life.
Celebrating books at literary festivals and/or writing conferences is a lovely part of life too!
But it is easy to forget reading isn't a way of life for everyone. Books have to compete with other forms of entertainment for people's attention. Sadly, books don't always win.
I was deeply saddened once, when on a book stall with some other local authors, I heard someone walk by and loudly exclaim "I don't do books". Hmm... I wonder why that is? Nervousness about reading? Too many associations with bad experiences at school? I thought the comment was so sad, and I still think that.
I read to:-
1. Escape the world for a bit. (It is beyond me people don't latch on to this more. The great thing books are legal, they won't make you put on weight, or give you a hangover).
2. Be entertained in a way that suits me. I don't have to commit to reading for three hours at a time (though chance would be a fine thing!). If you're in the cinema and it's a long film, you really do have to love it otherwise you're in for a dull evening.
3. Discover different worlds in a way that I choose. I vary my reading. I'll read crime books for a while, then historical fiction, then short story collections etc. But I choose which worlds to explore and when and I like that.
What I don't want to see is books being seen as "elitist" or anything like that.
Happy reading, everyone!
Celebrating books at literary festivals and/or writing conferences is a lovely part of life too!
But it is easy to forget reading isn't a way of life for everyone. Books have to compete with other forms of entertainment for people's attention. Sadly, books don't always win.
I was deeply saddened once, when on a book stall with some other local authors, I heard someone walk by and loudly exclaim "I don't do books". Hmm... I wonder why that is? Nervousness about reading? Too many associations with bad experiences at school? I thought the comment was so sad, and I still think that.
I read to:-
1. Escape the world for a bit. (It is beyond me people don't latch on to this more. The great thing books are legal, they won't make you put on weight, or give you a hangover).
2. Be entertained in a way that suits me. I don't have to commit to reading for three hours at a time (though chance would be a fine thing!). If you're in the cinema and it's a long film, you really do have to love it otherwise you're in for a dull evening.
3. Discover different worlds in a way that I choose. I vary my reading. I'll read crime books for a while, then historical fiction, then short story collections etc. But I choose which worlds to explore and when and I like that.
What I don't want to see is books being seen as "elitist" or anything like that.
Happy reading, everyone!
