I love books!

As part of our move, I gave away boxes of books as we packed. Then as we unpacked, I’ve given away more boxes. It pains me because these books are like friends. I know the authors, I love the characters, and I have to believe I’m sending them on to better friends. The latest boxes have gone to a church library that had grown a wee bit dated because of a lack of new books. That has me giddy as I think about all the authors who will be discovered by these new-to-them readers.

That got me thinking about why I love books. Why is reading like an addiction to me? I have to read just like I have to breath. It’s just part of who I am.

1) I love books because they transport me to another world. When I open the cover, I can disappear into another time and place. I love the smell, the feel, the experience of reading.

2) I love books because I always learn something. I’m one of those life-long learners. While I don’t love reading non-fiction (maybe because I read so much of it to the kids), I do like to learn something while I’m reading. A good book lets me do that.

3) I love books because they make me more sympathetic toward other people and the situations they are living. When I read, I am thrust into the head of a character who may be experiencing life in a way far different from mine. That increases my EQ when it comes to seeing someone else’s perspective. That’s a good thing.

4) I love books because they create a shared experience. There’s nothing quite like talking about a good book with another book lover. Learning about how they viewed a story, characters, etc. I’m always amazed at what they may have seen that I never in a million years expected to see. I am enriched through that experience.

5) I love books because they expand who I am. I’m currently reading Anne of Green Gables aloud to my children. I adored Anne with an E as a young woman, and now I get to share that delight with my kids. At the same time I’m rediscovering the language and way of writing that had me so entranced by the book as a young teen. I am Anne with an E. Growing up I was Anne to my friend’s Diana. It shaped our friendship. And that shaped me. All because I read a book and fell in love with a character.

I could go on and on about why I love books, but now I’d love to hear what you treasure about books.