Why do you read books?

[Namechangeallchange]

Just this really. Curious to know what makes you reach for books. Is it a passion you have always had and when/how did it start?

Always a bookworm. Well written books make my heart sing. I do avoid misery genres.

I like to learn or to get lost in a book.
I’ve always enjoyed reading although go through phases of reading less depending on what’s going on in my life.

Grew up with books and library attendance so it was very much part of normal life. My mother was a reader. Having health difficulties it was an obvious hobby. I really have never not been a voracious reader, I wouldn't know any other way.

Are you looking at getting into reading OP do you want suggestions or tips?

I’ve always read in bed before I sleep, and my kids have the same habit.

I am an acid reader. I love getting lost in a book and it's like a chance to almost live and experience hundreds of different lives.

Haha, avid reader!

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit I love books and generally enjoy reading but I have been through a phase where I have barely read anything anf I now find it hard to start again. Need to find some motivation

This does remind me of the great Bill Hicks "What you reading for?"

Reading is my favourite way to unwind. It's hard to worry or stress when you're engrossed in an exciting plot.

I've always read before bed since childhood, I'm mid 40s now, and I can't sleep if I don't.

It's perfect escapism for me.

I love reading, escaping to another life in a novel is one of my greatest joys. But I have small children and am exhausted and can't concentrate anymore. It makes me so sad. I don't know when I'll get it back. To relax into reading I need more personal headspace than I actually have at the moment.

I have always read. I could read at 3 years old - hyperlexic. It's just the best way to spend time.

@Namechangeallchange

What's your sweet spot/preferred story types/genres

For about a year I used a reading app when I went through a slump

I used to read a lot. I was a library member from a young age. My parents have always read loads. My brother wasn't much of a reader. My daughter also read a lot, but her tine us consumed with exams and other hobbies at the moment.

Unfortunately my reading habit has really dropped off. Partly because of social media and You Tube shorts (I spend way too much time there) partly because my concentration is shot as a result, partly because my husband doesn't read and wants to show me memes a lot, and partly because I can't find books I like much anymore.

I used to be into chick-lit but that grew tired and I am extremely picky. The last book i read was Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Half A Yellow Sun which took me five weeks! But it was interesting in its themes and taught me a lot about Nigerian history. (I went to You Tube for videos on the War in Biafra). I found the Lost Cafe Schindler a grind, a didn't finish, nor Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart which was difficult for this Englisher to follow, but The Midwife by Tricia Cresswell was good.

@TheCyclingGorilla same, social media have ruined my attention span, so sad. I also have a small DC and often struggle to find the time/am tired. But the social media/internet is the real reason why I read less.

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit I like English classics, dystopian novels, books about feminism and Agatha Christie

As soon as I could read in my head I became obsessed with books I average reading 100 or so a year.

@weirdas wow! Can I ask, when do you read? I usually try and read a few pages before bed but am always tired and can’t manage more than 20, maybe 30.

I've been a reader as long as I can remember. I can't even imagine NOT reading.

It relaxes me and gets me off my phone, lets me escape the humdrum of everyday life to go somewhere more exciting and often teaches me something (although I only read fiction).

I also find it very difficult to get to sleep without reading at least a few pages.

Lifelong reader and writer.

I read to learn new things (I read mostly non-fiction, but there are truths in fiction, too), for a reality check, to see how an author puts together a sentence, to see how other people live and think, to evolve.

My reading increased when I switched from hard copy books to an e-reader. The e-reader is so much better to use. I can jack up the font to a huge size, I can see what others highlight, I have hundreds of books in one place, it freed up book shelf space, the free Kindle Unlimited titles, privacy! No one knows what crazy stuff I am reading.

I've always loved reading! Social media, YouTube etc don't have to ruin your concentration. I spend waaay too much time on my phone, but it doesn't stop me reading. I read every night before I go to sleep, absolutely without fail.

I read a fair amount. I loved loved loved it as a child. I devoured books: around 20 a week as a primary school child. I just loved the different lives and worlds, but I also didn't much like loud noises etc as a child so I didn't watch much TV.

As an adult I too have been through phases of reading more and fewer books. I went through a particular phase of not reading much when I had in my head that my reading had to be "worthy" and that I shouldn't just read what I fancied. Having got rid of that stance (I still have the thought, I just ignore it), I now read somewhere between 1 and 2 books a week. Quite a lot of the time they're a 300 page cosy mystery or even some young adult stuff that I used to read as a teenager, but it's definitely better than being on my phone.

I always used to compare the books that I wanted to read to the books I "ought" to read and find them lacking - but when I instead compare them to whatever I would be doing instead (i.e. read a kindle book on my phone instead of browsing Mumsnet!) then they suddenly seem like a more "worthy" option.

Obviously in reality Mumsnet has loads of interesting discussions and dialogue on everything from politics to feminism to cooking but if I'm just mindlessly refreshing active then reading is definitely an improvement.

@Namechangeallchange

Ok so :

Dystopia try The End Specialist by Drew Magary or Wool by Hugh Howey

Feminism : Difficult Women by Helen Lewis

English Classics outside of ones everyone's heard of - on the 50 Book thread Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day and 84 Charing Cross Road are very popular as comfort reads. I have yet to read either though. Come and lurk on 50 Books and get ideas. The target isn't mandatory.

Lucy Worsley has an Agatha Christie biography out

I read for the escapism, a lot of fantasy and sci-fi, so tend to avoid normal fiction, although I like crime, but then there's usually a satisfactory ending. Also read to learn and understand new stuff. Although just finished the Terry Pratchett biography and the ending is heart breaking (possibly not if you're not a fan, but Rob Wilkins writes so well about the loss of someone they love that I'd challenge you not to be moved).

Reading to me is as essential as breathing ,i read every single day last thing at night and if i wake early i read then too.
I have been a bookworm since about age 5 , the thought of an unread book waiting to be read excites me ,all that potential .
Nothing beats an actual book but i also love my kindle , it gives me such a thrill to find a book i planned to buy for 99p on there and so many classics many free.
There are genres i would never read no1 being chick lit and i cannot stand anything badly written , i can easily abandon a book for that reason or if i have no empathy for the characters.
If you have a good book on the go you will never be bored.

Hoping to escape*. If it's a cathartic experience that's a bonus.

*not that I have a bad life or anything though

This is exactly how I feel, being in so many places, worlds, being lost in a book is magic.