Why read?
Why read?
Isn't that a stupid question to ask on a social network dedicated to reading and populated by users who are addicted to books?
Yes and no.
Well, here are some of my own answers to these questions.
We like to read because someone awoke in us a love of books and reading. In my case it was my mother who read to me until she was cross-eyed. (Not literally.) Kids love to hear stories, but they also think about them and want to regurgitate them. It's a small step from this to reading.
We read because people make us read. Teachers assign an author (let's say Shakespeare) in school, and sometimes--sadly--students come to detest the Bard because of the person who introduced him. But sometimes teachers foster and encourage a love of books. Fortunately, I've had more of the latter than the former.
We read because others read. I've bought many books because someone else (a professor, a friend, a family member) was reading it or told me it was a good book. I got into Dickens and Austen because of a little book which told me how amazing they were. And on Goodreads, I read on the strength of reviews, recommendations and friendships.
But when it comes down to it, I read because I have a compulsion to read. If I start a book, I want to finish it. Even when it's a book that's not particularly exciting. (This is good or bad, depending on whom you consult.)
When I hear about a topic that interests me, I want to collect books on the topic. This is fine, until I discover that my interest has shifted. (I dabble in many disciplines.)
If I read one book by a certain author and like it, I want to read more of this person's works--if not all of them. I've read many works of Dickens and Austen, everything by Susanna Clarke that I could get my hands on, a lot of Neil Gaiman and close to 40 Terry Pratchett novels. I've recently found that there is a name for this ailment. I'm a completist.
Reading involves a lot of tendencies which, in me, seem to be dangerously close to OCD. These lead to an empty wallet and overflowing bookcases. But if that's bad, I don't wanna be good!
Isn't that a stupid question to ask on a social network dedicated to reading and populated by users who are addicted to books?
Yes and no.
Well, here are some of my own answers to these questions.
We like to read because someone awoke in us a love of books and reading. In my case it was my mother who read to me until she was cross-eyed. (Not literally.) Kids love to hear stories, but they also think about them and want to regurgitate them. It's a small step from this to reading.
We read because people make us read. Teachers assign an author (let's say Shakespeare) in school, and sometimes--sadly--students come to detest the Bard because of the person who introduced him. But sometimes teachers foster and encourage a love of books. Fortunately, I've had more of the latter than the former.
We read because others read. I've bought many books because someone else (a professor, a friend, a family member) was reading it or told me it was a good book. I got into Dickens and Austen because of a little book which told me how amazing they were. And on Goodreads, I read on the strength of reviews, recommendations and friendships.
But when it comes down to it, I read because I have a compulsion to read. If I start a book, I want to finish it. Even when it's a book that's not particularly exciting. (This is good or bad, depending on whom you consult.)
When I hear about a topic that interests me, I want to collect books on the topic. This is fine, until I discover that my interest has shifted. (I dabble in many disciplines.)
If I read one book by a certain author and like it, I want to read more of this person's works--if not all of them. I've read many works of Dickens and Austen, everything by Susanna Clarke that I could get my hands on, a lot of Neil Gaiman and close to 40 Terry Pratchett novels. I've recently found that there is a name for this ailment. I'm a completist.
Reading involves a lot of tendencies which, in me, seem to be dangerously close to OCD. These lead to an empty wallet and overflowing bookcases. But if that's bad, I don't wanna be good!
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Richard
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Oct 13, 2012 01:20PM
Thanks for your thoughtful response, Alexander. You have given me a lot to ponder! Two cents well spent indeed.
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Your tone of reviews is terrific Richard. And very honest. Good day.
Krishna wrote: "Your tone of reviews is terrific Richard. And very honest. Good day."Thank you, Krishna. I appreciate your kind words. Wishing you a good day as well!
Way to go, Richard! I really enjoyed reading this piece a lot. Your words simply flow!
Dustin wrote: "Way to go, Richard! I really enjoyed reading this piece a lot. Your words simply flow!"Thank you for your kind words, Dustin!
Why read? It's a good question that I've never really stumbled upon the perfect answer to, despite the fact that O've been something of an avid reader for most of the life that I remember.When I read primarily fantasy fiction I could have answered that I loved transporting myself to other worlds of great imagination - and I certainly do - but the answer has become more complex as I started reading a lot more broadly. I love stories full stop. Adventure, romance, drama, mystery, fantasy, realist etc and I get a profound kick out of any story unravelling before me ... but why? I always ask myself.
I think that we understand ourselves through stories and we understand other people. When I read a book, a good book, I feel better connected, both to the author and to the cuture from which that book came. A great piece of prose can take me inside a character's head or it can take me to another place and time. It can give me a sense of the thoughts, ideas and personality that the author wanted to get across and a story, with characters, conflict and resolution can say so much more beyond the basic constraints of entertainment.
So, I read to feel connected - to my past and the present and to other cultures. It's a cliche but when I'm in a crowded room full of people I often feel intensely alone. When I read a book I never feel alone, I feel like someone is sharing with me something that they desperately wanted to share and if it's someone like Charles Dickens whose concerns and desires really speak to me, I feel like I'm having a conversation with someone great whose mind I feel grateful for connecting with. Even if the author is not that good I still feel that it's an enriching experience and I can take so much more from it than 100 conversations about the weather!
It's nice to share literature you enjoy with others but it so rarely happens in day-to-day life that you meet people who are genuinely passionate about it. Goodreads is cool because you can connect with other readers and, although I don't really need recommendations - I've been steeped in literature for so long I know exactly where to go to find what I want - still occasionally somebody says "this is awesome read it" and life pleasantly surprises you. It's happened a couple of times this year.
I loved literature since I was young. I think that reading The Hobbit when I was 10 confirmed that I would never ever stop reading, but dating a truly brilliant literature PhD from a young age, for many years prettty much sealed the deal as far as loving a broad range of classics goes. She was a far greater influence on my love of the stuff aged 15 onwards than any school teacher managed to be (like most people I found studying Great Expectations to be a complete bore!) and she showed me that you could enjoy a text in one way, think about it in another and that the two weren't mutually incompatible. Literature is what you make of it, what you put into it, it's anything but staid and boring.
Why do we read. I guess the short answer is that we're a bit obsessed!
Fantastic blog post Richard! :)
Thank you for sharing these thoughts, Alex. I think in many ways, we have a very similar attitude to reading. I didn't touch on the cultural aspect of reading but you're right on the mark there for sure. I was a student of French literature for many years and through reading widely in this field I learned a lot about the history and culture of the people that produced these works. On my own, I got into Greco-Roman literature and the same sort of thing happened.
Thanks also for offering a glimpse into the development of your personal life as a bibliophile!
Richard wrote: "Kids love to hear stories, but they also think about them and want to regurgitate them."nice blog i liked it:)
My mother told me that When i was a kid i insisted on hearing the same story four times ,and never get bored:)
and when she get tired and begin to change any single detail i correct her.
she said that none of my sisters ask her to hear the story more than once, i was the only one doing this!
does it explain why i am the only one who love reading;)
Hend wrote: "nice blog i liked it:)My mother told me that When i was a kid i insisted on hearing the same story four times ,and never get bored:)
and when she get tired and begin to change any single detail i correct her.
she said that none of my sisters ask her to hear the story more than once, i was the only one doing this!
does it explain why i am the only one who love reading;) "
I was the same kind of child. I listened to the same story repeatedly and corrected my parents if they tried to alter the text in any way.
So the answer to your question is: yes, a thousand times yes.
I think you might be my soul-sister. :)
Richard wrote: "Hend wrote: "nice blog i liked it:)My mother told me that When i was a kid i insisted on hearing the same story four times ,and never get bored:)
and when she get tired and begin to change any si..."
a Great honor to be your soul-sister :)
When I hear about a topic that interests me, I want to collect books on the topic. This is fine, until I discover that my interest has shifted. (I dabble in many disciplines.)I am the same, but I rarely read most of them. However, I feel more comfortable having them in my possession! My interests also shift, but never abandon me entirely.
Why read?
Because it's just so frickin' awesome.
~_^
Well, I've always thought of reading as one of the most breathtaking experiences anyone can ever have. Literature, in my view, is a manifestation of human imagination--like looking into someone's mind. When I read, I never feel lonely, because books come to life. It's like I'm stepping into a whole new world, the world of the author's imagination. How is that NOT cool? How is that NOT amazing and awesome and totally...just great?
We read because we long for someone to understand us, to feel as we do, to reflect what happens in our daily lives. To relate. And I think books can do that just as well, if not better, as any real person in life. Because we're looking into someone else's imagination. It's something I think all people should be able to experience...which is why it makes me really sad when I hear for the thousandth time one of my schoolmates whine, "I hate reading!" :(
Because it's just so frickin' awesome.
~_^
Well, I've always thought of reading as one of the most breathtaking experiences anyone can ever have. Literature, in my view, is a manifestation of human imagination--like looking into someone's mind. When I read, I never feel lonely, because books come to life. It's like I'm stepping into a whole new world, the world of the author's imagination. How is that NOT cool? How is that NOT amazing and awesome and totally...just great?
We read because we long for someone to understand us, to feel as we do, to reflect what happens in our daily lives. To relate. And I think books can do that just as well, if not better, as any real person in life. Because we're looking into someone else's imagination. It's something I think all people should be able to experience...which is why it makes me really sad when I hear for the thousandth time one of my schoolmates whine, "I hate reading!" :(
You're right, Jocelyn.Everytime you open a book, you really do open a door into a whole new world, and you get sucked into it.
Another reason I've always connected to the 'why' of reading is that we do it to learn. That's why people talk about 'reading for a degree' because you have to do a lot of reading for university studies to learn various theories and ideas. When my mum was homeschooling us she read us The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and encouraged me to read a lot of other classics when I could. Yes it became an obsession in a way, a way to learn about strange worlds but it is also a way of seeing how other people look at life and the interesting ideas people have. If we couldn't read I couldn't even communicate this thought to you at all!
I agree with some of the other commenters in that I don't think this is a stupid question at all. It's good to analyze why we do things, even the things we love. Otherwise, we can't answer people who challenge us on why those things are worth doing! I think from a young age, I had a hunger for stories, for worlds outside my own, for things to be other than they were (even if the way they were wasn't bad - I just wanted more to exist in the world than what I saw). Reading fulfills that. It offers whole worlds, when your own point of view can only offer what's in front of you. Does this explain why some people read and some don't... not really. Maybe they find that need fulfilled in other ways, or maybe they don't feel it at all - which is fine. I grew up with stories. Like some of the others above, my mother read to me the stories of her choosing, till I started bringing her specific books to read to me over and over again. There wasn't ever a time I didn't want the world to contain the fantastic. It's just part of who I am.
Maybe it's obsession. Maybe it's a form of self-expression, through what books we choose, what ideas we take to heart. I don't know. But it's a great question. One that's given me a lot to think about. Thank you.
And as a side note: love that your list contains Gaiman and Pratchett, as well as Austen. What would the world be like without them? :)
Megan Joel wrote: "I agree with some of the other commenters in that I don't think this is a stupid question at all. It's good to analyze why we do things, even the things we love. Otherwise, we can't answer people w..."Megan, I'm sorry for not replying sooner to your wonderful remarks. I'm glad my blog has given you something to think about. I think we've had similar experiences with books.
And yes, I'm a fan of humorous and experimental fantasy as well as a devotee of the classics.
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