Why other people love books! :)

I'll be making two posts of other's reasons for why they love to read. Here are a few:

Leah from Maryville, Tennessee -  As a former bookish kid, I can relate to your story. For me, it was because I grew up on a farm in a very rural area and didn't have a lot of peers to interact with outside of school. While my school friends lived in neighborhoods and ran amuck with other kids, I turned to reading and wandering on the farm. I'm 29 now and my love of books is stronger than ever. Reading can take you anywhere you want to go!

Keep with it. When you get to college (or just into the real world if you don't pursue college), you will find that being bookish can be a good thing- it can connect you with others (just look at LT!) and give you the ability to understand people who are different than you.

Catalina Egan from Delray Beach, Florida - I began to read at a very early age in Spanish, but the love of readin was instilled in me at the age of nine in the US. So I have always prefered books in English, but to keep up with my languages I do read in my other three Languages.
I read and get inspired by so many different things in books, some the story line allows me to escape from any issues in my life from which I need to detach. Other books give me ideas as to things I may wish to explore, attitudes to different philosophies or just plain old knowledge. As a writer I have for many years on my own 'studied' the writer's I admire. Looking at how their work improves with each book (most of the time) or why I was impacted by the work, was it really the subject or the way it was presented.

Saga (Herondale Girl) from Ludvika, Sweden - For me it's not that I relate to the character, it's what I see in them I wish for me. When the athor designs the character to be strong, I think when I'm reading that I want to be strong. Just like her/him. And during the story, as it develops, I become a different person. Books changes us, we learn how to react in a uniq way. We know when someone is lying, because we've been told all the signs. We change, become better people, because the books do that to us. They help and fix what's wrong. You can forget yourself in a book, be someone else. And sometimes that helps a lot more.

Stephen Goldin from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Books let us experience things we never will in real life. Books introduce us to fascinating people and places. Books are a new--and usually safe--place. Books teach us lessons that might be too dangerous or expensive to learn on our own. And books are always there, even when our best friends might be busy doing other things.

As Groucho Marx put it, "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read anyway."

Nikki from Monticello, Minnesota -  I would have to agree with everyone else. I've used books as my escape since I was in Middle School. I was lonely and didn't fit in to any of the Cliques. However, I'm always excepted in my books. I can be anyone I want to be, just by reading. I can travel anywhere to any "when" just by reading. Reading is my time. No one can get in there and mess with/bother me. It's just me and the story. No one can take that from me, my own little slice of nirvana and serenity served up on a fascinating plate just for me. Unless I'm denied books. Then it's on like Donkey Kong. Hopefully my ramblings haven't been to hokey =)

Alana from Austin, Texas - Stephen wrote: "In large part, you already answered your own question. Books let us experience things we never will in real life. Books introduce us to fascinating people and places. Books are a new--and usually s..."I couldn't have put it better! What he said is what I think!

Abby Reynolds from Fort Mill, South Carolina - Like C.S Lewis once said, "People read to feel like they are not alone." I completely agree with that saying. Also, I love reading books that take me some place, where I know I could never go. I also love the feeling when someone gets hurt, and their friend saves, and/or comforts them.

I talked to Abby Reynolds on Goodreads, and I've found that just in this answer, we're alike. We talked about our feelings towards books and how they help us escape reality. I thank her for introducing me to C.S. Lewis's quote that "People read to feel like they are not alone." We continued talking about our favorite book series (Harry Potter) and then we talked about other things, like school and movies.