What is a Book?

                To me, a book is a window. When you open the pages, you are looking in on someone else’s life. You are a third party watching them make mistakes and go about their day. As the reader you get to experience everything that is going on without the characters knowing you are present. You are standing on the outside of the plot but witnessing it all. Sometimes, a book is even a door. If it is written in first person you are invited into the character’s mind, hearing their thoughts and actions from a point of view that almost seems as if it’s your own. It’s like you’re stepping into their shoes and becoming them, feeling their emotions and changing the way you think to synchronize yourself with their thoughts. A book is a path to a hidden reality. The pages expose fresh characters and a soon to be discovered plot. They hold words arranged in a precise order so that you can picture all that goes on and have an image in your mind that you’ll want to hold on to even after you put the book down.

                Although a book is mainly a story for your imagination to explore, it also takes physical from. It’s a binding of pages, words, and paragraphs, complete with a cover to hold everything inside. It is something that you can flip through, smell, and carry. In my opinion, it just isn’t the same if you have the book electronically. I would assume that most authors intend for you to have the hard copy. I’m sure as they spending hours and hours writing, they often find themselves picturing their story as a finished product, sitting proudly somewhere on someone’s bookshelf, not downloaded onto a device. At least, I know that’s what I would think about. A book is an art. Even though most of the art comes from the story, it isn’t a finished product unless you have the whole thing, hardcover and all. When you download the book you aren’t getting the whole experience. You don’t get the chance to look at the details in the cover artwork, nor do you get to feel the weight of someone’s masterpiece in your hand. An electronic copy just doesn’t cut it.

Why I Read

I read because it is an escape from everything going on. If things aren’t going the way you want them to, you can pick up a book and leave for a few hours. It helps to suppress that “trapped” feeling. Sometimes I feel like I’m stuck and am just craving for some change. When I read I get to see things from someone else’s viewpoint, be in a completely different situation than my own, and can stay there for however long I’d like to. It refreshes my mind, helps me to calm down and look at the real world logically and realize the problems I had before I picked up the book were all in my head and weren’t really there.

Another reason I read is for pure enjoyment. When I read it’s like I’m experiencing things that I will never experience in reality because they’re unrealistic or just aren’t things that happen to me. It stimulates my imagination and helps me to think more creatively throughout the day, which I appreciate. It’s fun to be in a situation other than your own and gives you a nice break from everyday life. To me it’s more enjoyable than TV because you are the one who ultimately decides how the scenery and characters look, versus the picture being painted for you. Reading is a fun relaxing way to spend your free time.