There are many people who don’t like to read. So when I tell people that I like to read, or when they see me reading a book on my break, they always see it as something that is impossible. One of the most common things I hear is I wish I would read more or I used to read but I just can’t find the time. I get it. Sometimes its hard to get into a book or when you start reading, it seems like you are going nowhere when you read like 10 pages in the past thirty minutes. It’s not that easy. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

I have liked reading ever since I was a kid. I remember we had to do these reading comprehension tests in the computer lab when I was in elementary school. You had to answer 10 questions on the book you just read and each book was assigned points. The longer ones were usually worth more. By the end of a certain period we had to accumulate a certain amount of points. I thought that was pretty cool. I don’t know why, but I love point systems because I always want to get the most amount of points possible. I remember one time I had over 100 points by the time the period ended when I only needed 50 or something like that. Well the points don’t cross over to the next period so I had to start all over except I had already read enough for two periods. So I just didn’t do it. I got some points but not a lot. It wasn’t that I wasn’t reading. It was that I wanted to read books I was interested in. but I think that’s when it all really started.

At the time a movie called Left Behind came out. It was a movie based on the Bible and its predictions. If you have read the book of Revelations then you know what I’m talking about.( if not please look it up.) Basically it’s a movie about 4 people and their journey’s to know Jesus and all the while surviving all the judgements the Bible predicts are going to happen in the end times.

This movie, I realized, was a book and I wanted to read it. I wanted to know more so when my mom took me to the christian bookstore I found a young adults version written by the same person. It was 40 books long and that’s literally all I spent my time doing. ( I got in trouble because I was not reading for the school, and my teacher called me out on it at a parent/teacher meeting.)

Anyways. I say that to say this, that I loved to read. I didn’t read as much after that except for maybe school books. I knew I was the only one actually reading those books too because all my friends were telling me that they would just read the Spark-notes for class. It wasn’t until I was in high school that I began to pick up reading again. The girl I was with at the time showed me to some books she was reading and then also showed me to Harry Potter.

Ever since then its been on and off until I got into audible. Now I’ve been hooked on audio books because I can listen to a book anytime I drive to work or anytime I have some time to myself.If I’m not reading im listening to an audio book.

• Why I like reading

With the back story out of the way the reason I like reading is because first, the worlds people think of are just amazing. Some authors think of the most fantastical and magical places I could ever imagine. Just think about Harry Potter. All that you see in the movies was just something of the imagination in someones head. There are some worlds were dragons fly over land and sea. There’s a place where a lion speaks and at the sound of his voice make things come to life. You get to explore the outer reaches of space and time. You just get to explore the vastness of worlds unknown.

Secondly, I love books because of the grand adventures. Life in itself is nothing like movies or books. We have our routines. Mine is pretty boring; Work, school, exercise, Milo, and repeat. It’s amazing when I can get out of the monotony of life and go into a world as some kind of crusader. TV and movies have the same kind of feel to it but those end relatively quickly. I like the long haul. The journey and destination. Books take hours to read. They aren’t 23 minute shows stretched into 30 minutes with commercials. They are hours of intricately detailed maneuvering by an author.

Third, I love to read because of the stories. For the most part, stories are purposeful and each has a lesson along the way. What I find surprising is that most books and stories have a morally good lesson. You learn something that maybe the world has lost along the way. You see a glimpse of chivalry, unselfishness and goodness. They are there to fight evil, To rescue the damsel in distress, or there to save the day. Some characters don’t start out as these heroes. They have a long journey ahead to become that dependable person. They are flawed, but eventually they learn. I find it so satisfying to see those characters grow; To see them develop. Their development makes me want to grow into a better person too. I want to mirror the characters good traits.

For those who want to get into reading. I encourage you to set maybe 15-20 minutes to reading. It’s a journey well worth taking. Find what interests you and check out what people recommend because it’s so satisfying to flip the last page and finally say you’re done.

With that I will end this blog.

God bless.