It's a rainy, cold day. You snuggle on the couch with a soft blanket. There's nothing on television, so you don't know what to do with yourself. Pick up a book. They're the greatest thing in the world, and let me tell you why.
Books can take you to an alternative universe. That feeling when you're so indulged in a series or a specific genre is a beautiful thing. For me, my kryptonite is a romantic book. I dive into the book like there's nothing else in the world that matters and I come out of a 3 to 4 intense hour period of reading that when I finish the last page, the last paragraph, the last sentence; I don't know what to do anymore. I get so attached and involved that the fictional characters are all I think about: Did Molly get back together with Gabe, or did she start over again with Patrick? Did Gabe follow her to college? Did she meet a cute boy at college and forget about the two brothers entirely? There are so many possible outcomes to a story and what's genius is that authors can say hey, I'm gonna stop right there and leave it up to the readers' imagination.
There are so many emotions that go along with reading, if you know how to read properly. You feel angry when the main character's nemesis gets away with something; you get sad when a family member passes; you become ecstatic when the main character's boyfriend pronounces he loves her -- all of these things. Or, it could be totally different: feeling your heart beat faster as the detective reaches for the doorknob in a mystery and you jump to the next page to see if he's going to get attacked by the serial killer. If you're in the right genre, you will feel the book to your core and it's a glorious feeling.
Reading is a good escape route, just like running as I mentioned in my previous article. If i need to get away, I buckle down and let the book transform my mind until I envision every description on every page. Picturing your own version of characters and settings leave you in charge -- one of the things I like most. I'm the "books are way better than the movies" type. Movies can't capture everything a book does. "The Hunger Games" series, for instance; "The Uglies Series"; can't forget about "The Divergent" series. One of the biggest upsets to me was "The Giver" series by Lois Lowry. That first movie was a joke. The magical pages in any published novel create suspenseful moments directors can't quite copy or duplicate from the paperbacks, hence why I must read the printed version for myself even if the movie was decent.
Another thing: nothing beats the feel of a paperback or hardcover book in your hands. Turning the crisp pages until they form under your hands is a unique thing. It's also oddly satisfying when I spend $27 on five used books from Thriftbooks online instead of shopping for clothes that are going to go out of style in 3 to 4 months. Books are timeless. Books never expire. Books can't get replaced. Books are what future generations need to get back to. So many people are phone-obsessed robots who can't do anything other than social media interactions. Try an old-style, real book for once, will ya?
The gratification of reading and becoming more intelligent should be a selling point in and of itself: hell, it took me 2 extra days to write this article because "99 Days" written by Katie Cotugno was amazing! Once I sign off and submit for editing, you best know what I'm about to turn my attention to, and if you answered Netflix: you're incorrect.
