Blog Post #1

Reasons I Read

I've thought about why I read many times and can't come to one conclusion. Reading isn't something that I do on a regular basis for pleasure because of a busy schedule, and a lack of initial motivation, but I wish that I did more of it.


First off, reading is relaxing. Whenever I pick up a good book and start reading, I start to get lost in it and all my stress goes away. It becomes a different world away from normal life that I can go to. This only usually happens though when I read alone in a quiet place so that I can focus all of my thoughts on the book. The best place to read for me is on the beach, lying under the sun with a small breeze in the air. Everything is peaceful there, with nothing to worry about.


 In my opinion, the best books to read are the ones that you can relate the most to your own life. That doesn't mean that you won't enjoy a novel that is the polar opposite of your reality, but for me I get more into the books when I know how it feels to be in a similar situation.


 I also feel smarter after I read a book. Reading makes me think in a way that I don't normally do. I have to analyze the characters, plot, setting, and conflict and somehow tie everything together so that the story makes sense. A lot of times I have trouble comprehending what is going on during a book, because I'll get caught up in something else that happened that day and my mind will wander. I hate when this happens and end up having to reread what I just "read", so that I actually know what's happening.


 Another time when I like to read is whenever it's raining outside. I like the sound the rain makes against the house and it helps me relax and get into the book. Rain also helps me sleep though, so sometimes when I read during a rainy night, I fall asleep mid-sentence. One time, my family went camping and the night we went there was a terrible rainstorm with torrential downpours throughout the night. Before we left for the campground, I packed up my 30+ Junie B. Jones books. By the time that we left in the morning, I had read fifteen of them, one book every half hour or so. So the main reason that I read is to relax and enjoy myself, which is to me what books are made for in the first place.