Why I Love Reading – A Discussion Post

Bookish Discussion

I have always been a reader. From the earliest age I was enchanted by books and story telling. As a child I just read everything and anything that I could get my hands on. Our local library was right across the road from my primary school and I was a frequent visitor.

Reading was a great way to discover more about people. I grew up in a small town long before the days of the internet so reading was a portal to a view of the whole world. I learned about history and science, but I also learned about other people and their cultures. Reading helped to mould the person I am today.

I think as readers we constantly absorb so much of the world through our books. I think it is George R.R. Martin that said

A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The person who never reads lives only one…

…and I wholeheartedly agree with that.

To me, my books are how I travel the world.

What Books Have Meant to Me

I live with a long-term illness and it means that I am frequently housebound or at the very best these days have quite limited energy and sadly I have had to put my career plans on hold for the foreseeable future.

But my books… My books make me feel as if I have lived the richest life.

My books are a comfort and a solace, but they also educate and inform me. When you have a long-term illness like I have, you can really feel like the world is passing you by and that everyone is forgetting you.

But through my books I have found acceptance of myself.

I have found something in my life that gives me great joy and getting to discuss my passion for reading with all of you guys is the highlight of my every day.

Some of my Favourite Reads

The following is a list of the books that have had the greatest impact on my life and ones that feel very much a part of my own story even though my life has been very different to the lives of the majority of the characters from these books.

• When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr

• Back Home by Michelle Magorian

• Kiss the Dust by Elizabeth Laird

• The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

• Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

• Chemistry by Weike Wang

I don’t know what exactly it is about each of these books but they all just feel like me. They’ve all either taught me something about the world (When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, Back Home, Kiss the Dust), or about myself (The Catcher in the Rye, The Fault in Our Stars, Chemistry) or just about art in general (Beautiful Ruins).

What are your comfort and/or most impactful reads?

Do you have any books that you feel are a part of your soul? That somehow are integral to the essence of who you are as a person? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading this everyone!

For more reviews and book related chat check out my blog

Follow me on Twitter

Friend me on Goodreads