Over my brief stint of writing for the Odyssey, 5 out of my 9 articles have been about books in some form or another. Whether it was about translations or philosophy aphorisms, the theme of reading has stayed pretty constant.
The obvious response to why I write about books is "I guess he likes to read a lot." But the real question worth asking is “Why am I so passionate about reading?”
Reading for me is not a journey like some teachers like to tell their students to try coaxing them into reading. Reading is also not my way of trying to escape the world around me. I am not trying to find solace in between the lines.
I read because I want to think. You may be thinking, “WHAT? HE HAS READ TOO MANY PHILOSOPHY ESSAYS. HE ISN'T COHERENT. HE IS TRYING TO MAKE ME USE MY BRAIN! BAD ODYSSEY WRITER.”
You probably all aren't thinking that. What I mean by "I read to think" is that for me, books are ideas. Whether I am reading to find a new idea or a new perspective, I am looking for arguments not answers.
I am at an age where the answers to big questions aren't so clear. What am I going to do after college? Where do I want to live? Is pizza acceptable for breakfast? (That one is actually easy to answer; the answer is yes. Pizza is acceptable at any time of the day).
Through the books I read I am building a mental debate team. When a question comes to mind, I have all these intelligent people giving their perspectives on what I should do. Whether it is Hunter S. Thompson telling me to “Take the ride” or Oscar Wilde informing me to be myself because everyone else it taken, I know that the writers are on my side. I find solace in comparing their ideas and choosing which one would be good for me.
Reading is worth the hours of solitude. Most people choose not to read because it is “hard.” That only means you haven’t read the right books yet.
No one can live our lives for us. While we all feel the need to be like figures of the past, we are all individuals. The past can help us, but the present takes the past and applies it.
While we all narcissistically think that we have the answers to all of life’s questions inside of us, we do not. We need advice to understand the everyday complexities.
While others would rather die than read, I read to live.
