I love to read. I am the black sheep of my family in that way. My grandmother loves to read but besides her, I am the only one that thoroughly enjoys reading and would choose it over other hobbies.

My family is more outdoorsy and more active. When we go fishing, I have a book to read. I fish a little, catch one or two fish, then I read a book for the rest of the time. When I went hunting for the first time, I had my iPad that had about a hundred books on it. I started reading one and ended up not liking it and it was funny because my stepdad was like, “Oh I guess you can’t read.”

Ha, joke was on him because I had many different books to choose from. I ended up finishing one book while waiting on a deer. So, as you can see, I am a huge fan of reading. It’s something I really enjoy. I wanted to let everyone know why I love reading.

It allows me to escape the world

Sometimes I can’t take what’s going on in the world. Sometimes I need a breather. Sometimes I need to get away. Since it costs money to get away and I can’t always hide, reading helps with that.

I love stories. I love hearing about adventures.

When people talk about their adventures, they get so excited to tell you, their eyes light up and they are smiling the entire time. This

I get to live someone else’s life without living someone’s life.

I get to experience things I have never experienced before. I get to live vicariously through someone else’s life. Say someone is a spy and I am reading his or her story. I get to be a spy too, in a way. I get to see what they see.

I get to see things from other people’s point of view.

This is similar to what I said above except what I am getting to with this one is say the author and the main character are women of color, I am not a woman of color so I do not know what they have experienced or what they go through every day. I am able to see that. It’s not the same as experiences by any means, but it definitely opens my eyes as to what is going around me.

I get to do it with or without internet.

I can read an ebook saved on my iPad. I can read a paperback/hardback book. I can listen to an audiobook. The world is my oyster when it comes to how I can get books: library, online, or Barnes and Noble. I don’t need it to be light outside. I don’t need internet. I can read whenever I want: waiting in line, at the table, anywhere really.

It’s fun for me.

I have so much fun reading books. I learn. I dream. I hope. It makes life fun.

You get your own freedom with books by imagining the characters in each book.

Hermonie Granger’s actress is the same actress that plays Belle in Beauty and the Beast. She is also Lena in Colonia. Emma Watson is a wonderful actress that plays many wonderful characters. I love that. But, in books, that is not the case. When you read a book, that character doesn’t appear in any other books unless it’s a series. When I read a book, I see the scene play out in my head. I see what the character looks like. (I hate when they make a movie from the book and the actor/actress is not what I pictured).

It is very relaxing.

Reading is a calming hobby. It can be loud and busy around me and to just sit down and read a book is so calming and relaxing. When I read, I can block out anything that is going around me. That relaxes me because my mind is constantly running and reading puts all that to a halt.

Books capture thoughts.

In a movie or tv show, the only way to know what someone is thinking or feeling is if they are writing in a journal, narrating, or they are opening up to someone. In a book, you literally know what the main character is feeling and thinking. You are privy to their thoughts. In a movie or tv show, you don’t know what they are feeling.

I was the girl that would finish her test first and then would grab my book to read. I am the girl that has a book with her everywhere she goes. I usually have my iPad with me at all times and it has about a thousand ebooks on it. I am the girl that would rather read than go outside. The beach is a nice to place to go...if I have a book that I can read while sitting on the sand. I don’t care if that makes me a nerd. I am a nerd. I am a book nerd.