How do you lose yourself? I know this might sound funny, but losing ourselves is really important in our lives today. By losing yourself, you actually end up finding yourself. There's so many ways to do this. Some people exercise, some people meditate, and others read books. Here is a list of reasons I created that make books so great for me. I'm sure you can relate to these reasons. Book lovers unite!

• The way they feel. Ahhh there is no better feeling than a brand new book. The way the pages just slip right off your fingers. They are crisp. They are clean. An untouched book is like a newborn child, no eyes have seen it and no hands have touched it.
• The way they smell. There’s something about the way a new book smells that drives me crazy. It’s similar to a new car smell or the smell of clean laundry. Just ahh-mazing.
• The fact that you are holding a piece of someone’s life. Not literally, of course. But someone wrote this book for you to hold. Whether or not you know this person, you are getting to know them through the pages of this book. And whether or not this book has anything to do with this person’s life, it relates to them in some way. Even if it’s the smallest thing, there is a piece of them in it.
• Getting lost. Books are a great way to get lost. What I mean by that is, you can easily get lost in a story. Getting lost in a story means that books are gateways for us to escape our normal boring or exciting lives. They allow us to detach ourselves from everyone and everything, which is something we don’t get to do that often.
• Genres! There are so many different kinds of books. You can read anything from drama, mystery, fiction, nonfiction, biographies, autobiographies, to self-help books or books about movies. Any topic you can imagine has been made into a book.
• Steadiness. Books keep us steady. They give us comfort knowing we can always go back to them when we have the time to. They remind us that stories will keep going and we can always pick up a book and keep reading.
• The yearning you feel when you can’t read for a while. Especially in college, I am constantly writing, reading for class, and participating in extra-curricular activities. When you can’t pick up your book for a while, you miss it. You miss the feeling you get when you read. This feeling always has you coming back.
• The feeling you get when someone gives you a book. They know you like to read! It’s always exciting for me when someone thinks I will like a book, it means a lot to me.
• You can read anywhere at anytime and as long as it’s a physical book, you don’t have to connect to Wifi, you don’t need any passwords, you just need yourself, your eyes, and the ability to read.
• When you find small and cute little book shops or kiosks. I always find them when I go into New York City, and they bring me LIFE.

Here’s what others said:

“Books always offer you knowledge; even if it you aren’t reading for academic purposes, they still teach you life lessons and morals. I love to read because it is relaxing. I like being swept up in a good story.”

"What I love about books is the mere fact that I can get lost in the story, in the pages, and in the lives of the characters. There are times when I forget that I'm reading a book because I'm so mesmerized by the writing, the plot, and everything else. I've cried while reading a book because my favorite character died, and for words on a piece of paper to have that kind of effect on me means it's something truly magical."

“Just the feeling of holding a book and that new book smell I love in some weird way that makes me feel more (physically) connected to the story”

Maybe you don't love books as much as I do, or these other readers, but that's okay!

Read on my friends!