Today's Fun Fact: I own lots of purple stuff.
I recently returned from my spring break. It
was pretty chill, not having to worry about exams or projects or anything.
That meant I had plenty of time for one of my favorite activities:
binging on books! I finally got through Anna Karenina, which
I've been working on since November. Then I read the amazing words
of John Green in The Fault In Our Stars. It was a fabulous
way to spend spring break.
You see, I'm a person who can sit for hours on end
reading a book. I take a book or two along on every road trip. If I
can't find a new book to read, I’ll reread one of my favorites for the
umpteenth time. Most of my friends also enjoy reading, but I do have a
few friends that don't understand my love for novels. So, I
have compiled a list of why I think books (specifically fiction novels) are
amazing!
Books let you experience someone else's story. I
love escaping into the storybook world, immersing myself in the lives of the
characters. George R. R. Martin wrote in his book A Dance with
Dragons, “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The
man who never reads lives only one.” I have fought for my survival on television,
fallen hard for Mr. Darcy, helped an alien escape persecution, found
a golden ring, destroyed a dark wizard, and lost a lover to cancer. The
list can go on forever.
Books
provide knowledge. Yes,
encyclopedias and history books are informative, but even pleasant 19th century
British romance novels can teach you something. I've learned quite a lot
about past cultures and customs from all the classics I've been reading
lately, like Emma by Jane Austen. Character interactions
with one another, their daily tasks, their figures of speech, all of these
things were very ordinary when Austen wrote them. But for me reading
it 200 years later, I find it all very fascinating. Reading a story
is far more interesting than learning about the daily life of a 1800's middle
class woman from a textbook.
Books are inspirational. One
of my favorite authors from my teen years (and still!) is Ally Carter,
author of the Gallagher Girls series. In this series,
the characters attend a boarding school that trains them for the CIA.
These books sparked my interest in the CIA and other intelligence
agencies, and I briefly even looked into how one becomes a CIA agent. I
mean, I'm not pursuing a career in the CIA (and if I was... I would have to
kill you), but it did make me think about my future and what I wanted to do
with my life.
Books beg
for discussion. When you're having a conversation, one
person says something and others join the conversation by discussing what that
one person brought up. Well, when you read a novel, that's hundreds
of pages of something said by someone! That leaves so much
to talk about! This can be literary analysis, like the character
development Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, or social
commentary in books like Divergent and The Hunger
Games. Realistic fiction like The Fault In Our Stars or The
Perks of Being a Wallflower can open up discussions about your
personal life experiences. I love reading books, but I also love talking
about the books I've read with others.
Books
always have something to offer. I firmly believe that
I have gained something from every book I've read, whether or not I liked
the book. Take for instance J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the
Rings. This trilogy is hugely popular and it's a magical fantasy
adventure… but I didn't really enjoy it. It's just not my kind of book.
However, I gained a huge appreciation for the author who came up with
this whole world and history and language and everything. That's just
awesome. Another book that I can't rave about is Anna Karenina.
It was just another book on my list of famous classic books to read, and
I didn't love it. But it was very thought-provoking. There were
many philosophical passages that made me think about things like faith and
morality. I definitely gained some insight to my own beliefs. I
finish every book that I start and I never regret reading a book, even if
it wasn't my favorite.
I can go on forever about why books are amazing and
fantastic and wonderful, but for now I'll call it a day. Do you agree
with my list? What's your favorite book? Let me know, because I'm
in need of something new to read!
Happy reading,
Shelly
