Belle. Lisa Simpson. Emma Watson. Poussay. All these people share something in common, what the heck is that? Well, for starters, they're all book nerds, they love, love, love to read. Real life people and fictional characters enjoy losing themselves in the wonders of a book. It's a global thing! We run book blogs, accounts, fill our personal shelf's with all the books we've read, I mean books teach us a lot of things, even help us become a better person for it.
But wait, how does a book help you become a better person? Well, it teaches you new things, new words, and places. You can learn the history of any country, travel to a new magical place, even gain super powers and magical owls!
I'm totally kidding about that last part, but it can totally feel that way when you're reading a good book, I love letting myself sink into a new world where I can be a part of the characters and their adventures. I love that the authors drop hints throughout the book or a piece of themselves through writing. Not only that but reading increases your ability to empathize with others — if someone in a book loses a loved one, you read about the emotions and experiences this character endures which can really help you out in real life when someone you know happens to lose a loved one and you want to be there to comfort them. Now I'm not saying you will understand 100 percent, but you will definitely have a better understanding than you did before. In the end, though, sometimes just having a good friend to hug is really awesome, too.
Books are never limited, you can learn new languages or history or even math, (personally...I wouldn't want to read a math book but, to each their own, right?) fictional stories or nonfiction. They're a gift to this world. Where would we as humans be without them? They're such comfort items to me; I love always having a book in my bag in case I have some spare time on my hands to read, not to mention I hate being on my phone all the time so give me a good book to read and my phone does not exist.
As a kid, I didn't have many friends, I usually went straight home. All I had were my books and that was more exciting (for me) than getting wasted at a party. Books are to be valued, they can hold a lot of memories for people, including myself. You don't have to be out all the time to have fun!
Now like many/some bibliophiles out there, I don't mind lending out my books for others to read so they can experience the same joy as myself but I absolutely hate getting my books back...damaged. It really does tear a hole in my heart. I don't enjoy when I ruin my books myself, but that's on me. The thing is, letting other people borrow your book comes with responsibility on their part, these books mean a lot to me! I don't want to receive them back with stains, a folded cover, and the worst of them all, the dog ear page.
Books never let you feel lonely; everything stays the same where you left it. I love staying up late getting caught in a book and waking up the next morning picking up where I left off, that is, unless I finished it all the previous night. It also seems I'm always buying books even when I can't be spending money — #impulsiveshopperprobs — you should see my unread pile of books, it's unreal. I used to think I was the only one, but then the internet showed me I'm not alone. Now, I can chat online with other book lovers like me and we can discuss our favorite parts of the books, recommend new ones, create fan art, meeting the authors; it's all such a fun and amazing experience that I love being a part of. Reading a book makes me want to grab a pen and piece of paper to start writing my own stories with my own characters. I want to create my own world, full of magic, ghosts, beautiful gardens filled with flowers I've never seen, I want readers to want to join the journey with me as well.
Books always made me feel like I was never really alone, like I always had a friend to fall back on. Whenever I want to escape the harsh realities of life, grab a cup of hot coffee/tea/beverage of choice, grab my book and read. Read. Read. Read. Words never do anything justice, you have to go out there and experience it yourself. So do it now, pick up that book that's been sitting in your room, go to the library and check a book out. Barnes and Noble even allows you to sit in the store and read, isn't that awesome?! I mean, I can't go in there because I will be just about tempted to buy everything in the store. So go join a house in Harry Potter (go Hufflepuff)!!
