My daughter asked me a few weeks ago why I love books so much. Given the fact that her attention span is equivalent to that of a goldfish, I gave her a short answer: I love reading stories.
But it’s so much more than that.
I love the way an author can make you feel things you didn’t know you could feel.
I love the way a book can change your perspective or even your mind.
I love how a good story stays with you for weeks and months and years afterwards.
I love how certain characters find their way into my life at just the right time.
I love how books don’t care what I look like or how much I weigh, and how they’re there for me regardless.
I love that a captivating story can keep me occupied for an entire afternoon.
I love the worlds and places books take me to.
I love how books improve my vocabulary and logic and thought process and all those necessary, critical thinking skills.
I love that there are books for everyone.
I love that books can spur debates and conversations and create connections between people who’ve only just met or have known each other for years.
I love the easy access we have to books now when just 100 years ago, it wasn’t so.
I love that, even from a book I don’t finish or a book I hate, I take away something.
I love the staying power of books.
I love that no two people read the same book even if they’re reading the same book.
I love that reading is free.
I love that books give me something look forward to even when nothing else does.