Why Do You Read?
November 7th 2006 08:16
One thousand years ago in Europe, most of the people who read were either monks or priests. And the main reason people had for reading was to study the word of God. As more and more people learnt how to read, the reasons for reading grew. People read to study or become informed. People read to correspond with other people. Through reading, people gained an understanding of the world around them and were given the opportunity to see different ideas.
Reading in order to keep up-to-date with current affairs has been around for a long time, but the first newspapers allowed many more people to read for this reason. Novels brought with them the idea of reading for entertainment. In recent years, the internet has made it easier to read for the purposes of interacting with the writer.
There are so many different reasons to read that it would be impossible to list them all. However, these are my main reasons for reading.
1. to become informed about current events and issues.
2. to learn about history.
3. to be entertained.
4. to study the word of God.
5. to read ideas and thoughts that teach me about my faith and help me grow, spiritually.
6. to see the world through different eyes.
7. to appreciate good writing.
8. to hear a person's point of view.
9. to learn how to do a specific task.
10. to better understand various forms of writing.
11. to research material in my work.
12. to interact with other writers.
13. as part of my editing and proofreading work.
There are probably other reasons, but this is what I've come up with today. However, I think my main reason for reading is to think. I don't want to just mindlessly absorb words on a page. I want them to affect me and to make me think about what they mean to be. Even if I'm reading to get information, I want to spend some time thinking about how that information affects how I see the world. I don't care what the form is so much. It can be a blog, a novel, an article or a non-fiction book. But I like to read, so that I can think.
What about you? Why do you read?
Reading in order to keep up-to-date with current affairs has been around for a long time, but the first newspapers allowed many more people to read for this reason. Novels brought with them the idea of reading for entertainment. In recent years, the internet has made it easier to read for the purposes of interacting with the writer.
There are so many different reasons to read that it would be impossible to list them all. However, these are my main reasons for reading.
1. to become informed about current events and issues.
2. to learn about history.
3. to be entertained.
4. to study the word of God.
5. to read ideas and thoughts that teach me about my faith and help me grow, spiritually.
6. to see the world through different eyes.
7. to appreciate good writing.
8. to hear a person's point of view.
9. to learn how to do a specific task.
10. to better understand various forms of writing.
11. to research material in my work.
12. to interact with other writers.
13. as part of my editing and proofreading work.
There are probably other reasons, but this is what I've come up with today. However, I think my main reason for reading is to think. I don't want to just mindlessly absorb words on a page. I want them to affect me and to make me think about what they mean to be. Even if I'm reading to get information, I want to spend some time thinking about how that information affects how I see the world. I don't care what the form is so much. It can be a blog, a novel, an article or a non-fiction book. But I like to read, so that I can think.
What about you? Why do you read?
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Comment by K.L. Almeroth
Motherhood
To Writing Words,
I think I read to escape to another world.
Also to learn.
K.L.
Comment by historylass
The Written Word
History Lass
Comment by Andrea
Diet and Health
V8 Supercar Pitstop
I also read to escape and to learn. I share one love with you, that of history and I like to read anything that deals with history.
I think escapism is important ... sometiimes we need to get out of our own lives and experience the troubles and highs of another person, whether fictional or not. It puts your own life into perspective.
A.H.
Comment by historylass
The Written Word
History Lass
Good to see another person who shares my love of history. I think one thing that reading fiction does is help you empathise with other people, because you get used to seeing the world through different eyes.